Citation Nr: 21001822 Decision Date: 01/11/21 Archive Date: 01/11/21 DOCKET NO. 18-29 289 DATE: January 11, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to a 100 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted throughout the entire period under appeal, subject to the criteria applicable to the payment of monetary benefits. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), due to service-connected disabilities is dismissed. INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from November 1976 to August 1980. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. During the entire period on appeal, the occupational and social impairment from the Veteran’s PTSD has most nearly approximated total. 2. A TDIU is considered a lesser benefit than a 100 percent schedular rating, and the grant of a 100 percent rating renders moot the issue of entitlement to a TDIU for the period when the 100 percent rating is in effect. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for a rating of 100 percent for PTSD have been met for the entire period on appeal. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.3, 4.7, 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411 (2020). 2. Entitlement to a TDIU rating is dismissed as moot. VAOPGCPREC 6-99; 64 Fed. Reg. 52, 375 (1999). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Legal Criteria Disability evaluations are determined by the application of the VA’s Schedule for Rating Disabilities (Rating Schedule). 38 C.F.R. Part 4 (2020). The percentage ratings in the Rating Schedule represent, as far as can be practicably determined, the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from diseases and injuries incurred or aggravated during military service and their residual conditions in civil occupations. 38 U.S.C. § 1155 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.321 (a), 4.1 (2020). Where a question arises as to which of two ratings applies under a particular code, the higher rating is assigned if the disability more closely approximates the criteria for the higher rating. 38 C.F.R. § 4.7 (2020). It is not expected, especially with the more fully described grades of disabilities, that all cases will show all the findings specified; findings sufficiently characteristic to identify the disease and the disability therefrom are sufficient; and above all, a coordination of rating with impairment of function will be expected in all cases. 38 C.F.R. § 4.21 (2020). Factual Background and Analysis The Veteran initiated a claim for an increased rating for his PTSD, to include a TDIU rating in February 2016. The RO confirmed and continued his previously assigned 70 percent disability evaluation, and denied a TDIU rating in a May 2016 rating decision. This appeal followed. The Board disagrees with the assigned rating, and for reasons explained below, the Board finds a 100 percent schedular rating is warranted throughout the entire appeal period. PTSD is rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. In pertinent part, it provides the following: Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.........................70 Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name...........100 38 C.F.R. § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411. Critically, the Board observes that the rating criteria for a 70 percent rating for PTSD indicates an array of symptoms, which are likely sufficient to cause impairment and deficiencies in most areas of life functioning, to include work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood. Such symptoms need not rise to the level of activity preclusion, but rather negatively influence or impact upon most areas of life functioning. A higher 100 percent rating is warranted when the evidence indicates total impairment. 38 C.F.R. § 4.103, Diagnostic Code 9411 (2020). The symptoms considered in determining the level of impairment under the Rating Schedule for PTSD are not restricted to the symptoms provided in the diagnostic code. Instead, VA must consider all symptoms of a claimant’s condition that affect the level of occupational and social impairment. The Board has carefully reviewed the Veteran’s treatment reports from the Charleston and Dayton VA Medical Centers, as well as his private treatment reports from the Wright Behavioral Health Group. The Board has also thoroughly reviewed the results of a VA examination conducted in May 2016, as well as his medical records and a determination provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Further, the Board has also prudently considered the Veteran’s own statements. In sum, those records show the Veteran received ongoing mental health care throughout the period of this appeal. Additionally, the above-noted evidence shows the Veteran has experienced several significant symptoms and impairments, which include: severely depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, trouble sleeping with nightmares, feelings of shame, difficulty with trust, panic attacks that occur weekly or less often, impaired memory, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, difficulty establishing and maintaining work and social relationships, a constricted affect, trouble concentrating, difficulty with stressful circumstances, suicidal ideations, obsessive/compulsive behaviors, and impaired impulse control with periods of violence. Further, the evidence shows the Veteran has also experienced two divorces and has lost over twelve jobs since his discharge from service. Additionally, the Veteran has received inpatient care at the Dayton VAMC. The Veteran has not worked since October 2015, and has self-medicated with drugs and alcohol. Finally, the Board notes an August 2016 determination of the SSA, which found the Veteran’s psychiatric disorder precluded his ability to obtain and maintain employment. In this case, the copious evidence plainly establishes the Veteran’s psychiatric manifestations have resulted in deficiencies in all applicable areas of life functioning. Specifically, his symptoms have significantly impaired his ability to work, caused him marked social/family impairments, caused deficiencies in judgment, and resulted in severe mood impairments. As noted above, the 100 percent evaluation criteria does not indicate total occupational and social preclusion; rather, it merely states a veteran must have total impairment. The Board again notes a 70 percent rating is warranted when psychiatric manifestations cause impairment in most areas of life functioning; however, this Veteran’s psychiatric manifestations have resulted in impairments in all areas of life. Therefore, the Board has afforded the Veteran the benefit of the doubt and finds his disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria necessary for a 100 percent rating for the entire period on appeal. In closing, the Board notes that a TDIU is considered a lesser benefit than a 100 percent schedular rating, and the grant of a 100 percent rating renders moot the issue of entitlement to a TDIU for the period when the 100 percent rating is in effect. VAOPGCPREC 6-99; 64 Fed. Reg. 52, 375 (1999). As such, this issue is dismissed, because a 100 percent schedular rating has been assigned throughout the entire appeal period. T. REYNOLDS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board G. Fraser, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.