The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, acne with residual scarring, sleep apnea, tension headaches, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis, left knee degenerative joint disease, right shoulder tendinitis, lumbosacral spine degenerative arthritis, chronic right ankle strain, bilateral pes planus, right great toe injury, hypertension, left and right knee instability, and traumatic brain injury, have rendered him unable to maintain substantially gainful employment since June 11, 2012.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are of a nature and severity that precluded him from participating in any regular substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience throughout the period considered.
- Claimed conditions
- adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, acne with residual scarring, sleep apnea, tension headaches, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis with shoulder impingement and acromioclavicular joint arthritis, left knee degenerative joint disease status post surgery, right shoulder tendinitis with spur formation of acromin, lumbosacral spine degenerative arthritis with disc disease and intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) status post laminectomy, discectomy and decompression, chronic right ankle strain, left ankle spurring adjacent to distal fibula and calcification of distal achilles tenson, bilateral pes planus, right great toe injury with residual degenerative joint disease, hypertension, left knee instability, right knee instability, right knee degenerative joint disease, right index finger injury with residual discomfort, deviated nasal septum, traumatic brain injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 11, 2021
- Citation
- 21028613
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 21028613.
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 has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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