The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder was denied. The Board found that the Veteran’s disability picture is characterized by occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, but not severe enough to meet the criteria for higher ratings.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 30 percent as his PTSD-like symptoms were mild and did not cause significant impairment in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064996
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation from July 7, 2017, but no earlier, to July 26, 2019, and he was granted basic eligibility for DEA benefits during the same period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, denied an initial compensable rating for service-connected erectile dysfunction, and readjudicated the claims of entitlement to service connection for left and right hand numbness based on new evidence. The remaining claims were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the condition.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder was found to be so severe as to preclude all forms of substantially gainful employment from June 12, 2020, granting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
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