Citation Nr: 21011994 Decision Date: 03/03/21 Archive Date: 03/03/21 DOCKET NO. 19-13 990 DATE: March 3, 2021 ORDER A temporary total disability rating for psychiatric hospitalization spanning December 2010 to February 2011 is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran was not service-connected for any psychiatric disabilities at the time of his hospitalization. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for the assignment of a temporary total disability rating for psychiatric hospitalization spanning December 2010 to February 2011 have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 4.30. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from August 1979 to March 1985, including foreign service. For his meritorious service, the Veteran was awarded (among other decorations) the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He offered testimony during a February 2020 videoconference hearing. A transcript of this proceeding has been associated with the record. This appeal was then remanded by the Board in March 2020 for additional development, which has since been completed. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Also in March 2020, the Board remanded service connection claims for bilateral knee, right hip, and eye disorders. As these grants represent a complete grant of benefits sought on appeal, the issues are no longer before the Board. Temporary Total Rating The Veteran is currently pursuing a temporary total rating due to hospitalization for his posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from December 2010 to February 2011. See February 2014 VA Form 27-0820; see also VA treatment records (confirming the dates of hospitalization). A total rating will be granted following hospital discharge, effective from the date of hospital admission and continuing for a period of one, two, or three months from the first day of the month following such hospital discharge if the hospital treatment of the service-connected disability resulted in: (1) Surgery necessitating at least one month of convalescence; (2) surgery with severe post-operative residuals such as incompletely healed surgical wounds, stumps or recent amputations, therapeutic immobilization of one major joint or more, application of a body cast, or the necessity for house confinement, or the necessity for continued use of a wheelchair or crutches (regular weight-bearing prohibited); or (3) immobilization by cast, without surgery, of one major joint or more. 38 C.F.R. § 4.30(a). This rating will be assigned without regard to other provisions of the rating schedule. The law is dispositive in this case, as the Veteran’s period of hospitalization predates his award of service connection for PTSD. See March 2020 rating decision (assigning an effective date of February 24, 2014, for the award of service connection for PTSD). There is no evidence that the Veteran is seeking a temporary total rating based upon a different period of hospitalization, or that he was hospitalized for his PTSD subsequent to the award of service connection. As the Veteran was not service-connected for his PTSD at the time of his hospitalization, he lacks legal grounds to establish entitlement to a temporary total rating under the law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426 (1994) (holding that in cases in which the law and not the evidence is dispositive, a claim for entitlement to VA benefits should be denied or the appeal to the Board terminated because of the absence of legal merit or the lack of entitlement under the law). Therefore, entitlement to a temporary total rating due to hospitalization for the Veteran’s PTSD from December 2010 to February 2011 is not warranted and the appeal must be denied. Of final note, the Veteran has not raised any other issues, nor have any other issues been reasonably raised by the record, for the Board’s consideration. See Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 366, 369-370 (2017) (confirming that the Board is not required to address issues unless they are specifically raised by the claimant or reasonably raised by the evidence of record). Evan M. Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Kovarovic, 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.