The Veteran's PTSD with MDD is rated at a 70 percent rating prior to July 5, 2018. The Board found that the symptoms of reduced reliability and productivity due to flattened affect, panic attacks more than once a week, difficulty in 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 meet the criteria for a 70 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms prior to July 5, 2018 included suicidal ideation, near-continuous panic attacks, impairment in short and long term memory, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.
- Claimed conditions
- PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074157
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a disability rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, effective October 24, 2017. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, as the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of PTSD or any other psychiatric disorder during the appeal period.
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