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Granted

The Veteran's PTSD with depressive disorder is rated at a 70 percent rating from April 19, 2019 to November 8, 2022. A rating in excess of 50 percent prior to April 19, 2019 is denied.

The deciding factor: The Veteran reported recurrent passive suicidal ideations since April 19, 2019 and had a history of alcohol dependence during this period, which supported a 70 percent rating for PTSD based on suicidal ideation. However, the evidence did not show total social and occupational impairment.

Claimed conditions
PTSD, Depressive Disorder
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
70%
Decision date
January 9, 2023
Citation
23001212

Veterans Law Judge

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · 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 23001212.

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

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