The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is granted pursuant to the PACT Act. The claim for a 70% disability rating for PTSD from April 26, 2016 to January 11, 2018 is also granted.,The Board has determined that the earlier effective date request for the 70% PTSD rating should be remanded due to the need for additional development.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension claim was granted under the PACT Act, which establishes hypertension as a presumptive disease for in-service exposure to herbicide agents. The earlier effective date request for the 70% PTSD rating is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding service connection on a basis other than the PACT Act.,The Veteran's TDIU claim is also being remanded as it was not expressly claimed or separately appealed by the Veteran but is considered here as part of the increased rating claim granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- April 6, 2023
- Citation
- 23021099
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 23021099.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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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