The Veteran's PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder is currently rated at 70 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted.,Service connection for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine has been granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 70% rating for PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder, resulting in occupational and social impairment with mild or transient symptoms that decrease work efficiency and ability to perform tasks during periods of significant stress.
- Claimed conditions
- PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder, Degenerative disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24012543
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 24012543.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy on the basis of CUE in the February 1996 rating decision have been denied. The May 2022 rating decision is also dismissed as it failed to grant service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder, migraine headaches, and OSA are all granted as secondary to his service-connected psychiatric disorder. The rating assigned is a 100 percent initial rating for the entire period on appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis and continuous low back symptomology since separation from service are sufficient to meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to have the agency of original jurisdiction adjudicate the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for PTSD with unspecified depressive disorder.
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