The Veteran was granted an earlier effective date of March 26, 2014 for the award of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits. The Board found that she had been unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment due solely to service-connected disabilities from March 26, 2014.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's unemployment was attributed to her service-connected disabilities, which met the schedular criteria for a TDIU as of March 26, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- dysthymia with major depressive disorder, neurocognitive disorder, cerebellar ataxia, dry eyes, ataxic unsteady gait of the left lower extremity, ataxic unsteady gait of the right lower extremity, dysarthria
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 90%
- Decision date
- April 8, 2026
- Citation
- A26032404
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 A26032404.
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 has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, schizoaffective disorder, and neurocognitive disorder is remanded due to a failure to provide a VA examination addressing whether the pre-existing psychiatric disorder was aggravated during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's dry eyes are related to service. The claim will be reviewed again with additional evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a neurocognitive disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected celiac disease with GERD, considering all submitted evidence and finding that the positive and negative evidence are at least approximately evenly balanced.
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