The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to August 31, 2013, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran maintained full-time employment as a carpenter until August 2013 and continued to work part-time due to economic reasons rather than his service-connected disabilities. The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Acquired psychiatric disorder, Tinnitus, Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20081715
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 20081715.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating of 30 percent prior to July 18, 2014, and a higher than 60 percent rating thereafter for ischemic heart disease is being remanded due to incomplete evidence. The examiner needs to provide more detailed information about the severity of his service-connected condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
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