The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and he is also separately and distinctly service connected for a heart disability rated at 60 percent disabling. Therefore, the Board has granted entitlement to TDIU and SMC.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability prevents him from securing or following any substantially gainful employment, meeting the criteria for a TDIU. Additionally, his separately and distinctly service connected heart disability rated at 60 percent also meets the requirements for SMC under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disability, Heart disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 16, 2024
- Citation
- A24066066
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 766 · Granted: 40% (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 A24066066.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's motion to revise the May 2013 rating decision that denied a TDIU, finding no clear and unmistakable error.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his psychiatric disability was the initial decision, and thus attorney fees are not eligible based on past due benefits awarded in April 2025.
- Denied
The Veteran's psychiatric disability is currently rated at 30 percent, which is the lowest possible rating under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The Board found that his symptoms did not warrant a higher rating as they were intermittent and did not significantly impair his occupational or social functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability, finding that the Veteran's current heart diagnoses are not related to his military service.
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