The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are not of such nature and severity as to have prevented him from securing or following any substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: VA regulations allow for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability when a veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities, and the Veteran's combined rating is 70%. The preponderance of the evidence does not establish that the Veteran is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the right and left upper extremity, bilateral tinnitus, peripheral neuropathy of the sciatic and femoral nerve of the right and left lower extremity, left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- May 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20034978
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20034978.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
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