The Veteran's psychiatric disability, characterized as PTSD, is currently rated at 30 percent. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating due to the Veteran's symptoms not meeting the criteria for a 50 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s symptoms do not on balance cause occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to PTSD symptoms such as flattened affect, circumstantial or stereotyped speech, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty in understanding complex commands, impaired judgment or abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, or difficulties in establishing effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- September 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20063657
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 20063657.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD and a total disability evaluation due to individual unemployability (TDIU) from March 31, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, claimed as PTSD, is rated at 50 percent effective August 13, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted. The Veteran also failed to meet the schedular criteria for TDIU as his combined overall rating was 50 percent throughout the period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of death and whether service-connected PTSD contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death. The Appellant contends that alcohol abuse was related to his service-connected PTSD, which led to nonischemic alcohol cardiomyopathy resulting in his death.
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