The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD, Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety, Depressed Mood, and TBI was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to his symptoms being consistent with a 70 percent disability rating. For the TDIU claim prior to July 1, 2018, the appeal was also denied as there was no evidence showing he was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes and his overall symptomatology did not equate to total social and occupational impairment at any point during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20073909
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20073909.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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