The Veteran's service connection claim for lipomas of the back, shoulder, neck, and brain is denied. The initial 70 percent rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder prior to October 11, 2017 is granted.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's lipomas had their onset during service or are otherwise related to a disease or injury during service. The initial 70 percent rating for PTSD with major depressive disorder prior to October 11, 2017 is granted based on symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial speech, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty understanding complex commands, impairment of short and long-term memory, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- lipomas of the back, lipomas of the shoulder, lipoma of the brain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- September 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20060434
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 20060434.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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The Veteran's appeal was denied as his request for a DRO hearing was not timely filed, and thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Denied
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- Denied
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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