The Board granted an effective date of April 16, 2021, for the award of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU), special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria (SMC-HB), and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) based on permanent and total disability status.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected PTSD alone has prevented him from obtaining and maintaining employment since April 16, 2021, meeting the schedular requirements for TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a).
- Claimed conditions
- PTSD, Sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25034065
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder, as well as presumptive service connection for basal cell carcinoma under the PACT Act. Service connection was denied for chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, right restless leg syndrome, left restless leg syndrome, an increased rating for psychiatric disorder, bilateral hearing loss, a left forehead surgical scar, and allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, as the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of PTSD or any other psychiatric disorder during the appeal period.
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