The appellant is eligible for the direct payment of attorney fees from past due benefits awarded in a February 2024 rating decision granting higher ratings for CAD and anxiety.
The deciding factor: The fee agreement was valid, and the Veteran had continuously pursued issues of entitlement to higher initial ratings for anxiety disorder and CAD, including whether TDIU was a rating option in the pursuit of higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Anxiety Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25042207
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating greater than 70 percent for PTSD, granted an earlier effective date of August 14, 2024, for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD, and denied other claims including entitlement to an effective date prior to April 3, 2025, for the grant of a 100 percent rating evaluation for CAD.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for a higher level of special monthly compensation (SMC) as he does not meet the criteria for an increased rate based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 70 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, anxiety disorder, and major depression.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for migraines and remanded the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include an anxiety disorder.
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