Citation Nr: 21027509 Decision Date: 05/05/21 Archive Date: 05/05/21 DOCKET NO. 14-34 144 DATE: May 5, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (hereafter referred to as a "psychiatric disability") is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran limited his appeal to the issue of entitlement to an initial disability rating of 50 percent for his service-connected psychiatric disability, and he since has been awarded that benefit. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected psychiatric disability are not met. Ab v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 39 (1993). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1969 to February 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Diego, California. The rating decision on appeal awarded service connection for the Veteran's psychiatric disability; he was granted a 30 percent rating effective September 10, 2013. The Veteran also was denied entitlement to service connection for hypertension, and he timely appealed his psychiatric rating and the issue of hypertension. The Board most recently addressed these claims in a May 2018 decision. The Board also took jurisdiction of the issue of entitlement to total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU), pursuant to Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 454 (2009), and remanded all issues for additional development. In an August 2020 rating decision, the Veteran was awarded service connection for hypertension, entitlement to TDIU (with an effective date corresponding to the award of service connection for the Veteran's psychiatric disability), and an initial disability rating of 50 percent for his psychiatric disability. The former two issues have been resolved and no longer will be discussed herein. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (noting that a grant of service connection extinguishes appeals before the Board). Thus, the only remaining issue is as it is framed on this decision's first page. A claimant may limit the claim or appeal to the issue of entitlement to a particular disability rating which is less than the maximum allowed by law for a particular service-connected disability. Ab v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 39 (1993). On his April 28, 2014, Notice of Disagreement (NOD), the Veteran checked off the box indicating that he was appealing the evaluation of his psychiatric disability. In the column to the right, the Veteran wrote in "50%." On the second page of his NOD, the Veteran stated that due "to the severity of my conditions and symptoms of my PTSD, I feel I more closely fit the 50% evaluation." On his October 29, 2014, VA Form 9, the Veteran again reiterated that he "more closely fit the criteria for 50% for [his] PTSD with major depression." On a February 2015 VA Form 646, the Veteran's representative referenced and incorporated the statements concerning a 50 percent rating from the Veteran's VA Form 9. Before this appeal was returned to the Board, the Veteran's representative submitted an April 2021 Informal Hearing Presentation (IHP). The representative stated that the "Veteran received the increased rating for PTSD that he requested; there is no further evidence to discuss. We thank the Board for their time and consideration in this appeal." The Board is satisfied that the Veteran has limited his appeal of the instant issue to that of entitlement to a 50 percent disability rating. Because the RO awarded in August 2020 an initial disability rating of 50 percent, he has received a full grant of benefits on appeal as he has framed it. Thus, there is no further issue for the Board to adjudicate, and the appeal, therefore, is denied. See Ab, 6 Vet. App. at 39. JONATHAN B. KRAMER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Trevor T. Bernard, Associate 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.