The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to January 1, 2016 due to service-connected disabilities. The evidence did not show that his service-connected conditions precluded him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s combined evaluation was at least one disability rated as 40 percent disabling and met the schedular requirements for TDIU, but he could not secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- status post right hip replacement, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with unspecified depressive disorder, status post right shoulder arthroplasty, total knee replacement, right knee strain with osteoarthritis associated with status post right hip replacement, painful scars, right hip, associated with status post right hip replacement, impairment of the left knee (instability) associated with total left knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20067786
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20067786.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder, based on a private medical opinion that it is at least as likely as not that the sleep apnea is caused by his service-connected conditions and weight gain.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for further development, including to obtain a new VA examination and determine the severity of the Veteran's left knee condition while discounting the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a left hip disability, right hip disability, low back disability, left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for left knee internal derangement, which resulted in a total knee replacement, was granted because the pre-existing condition was aggravated by military service.
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