The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for his cognitive disability is denied. The claims for TDIU and SMC are granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes, as the symptoms do not warrant a rating higher than 70 percent.
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified depressive disorder, Anxious distress, Mild neurocognitive disorder unspecified
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 21, 2023
- Citation
- 23062021
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 23062021.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's other specified depressive disorder is rated at 70 percent, but no higher, for the entire appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's somatic symptom disorder with depressive disorder, unspecified, and anxious distress resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in areas of work, family relations, judgment, and mood. The Board granted an initial disability rating of 70 percent for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability did not manifest by total occupational and social impairment, so the claim for a higher rating is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of VA examination and insufficient evidence to verify the Veteran's reported stressors. The Veteran is seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, other specified trauma related disorder, and other specified depressive disorder.
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