Citation Nr: 22008563 Decision Date: 02/15/22 Archive Date: 02/15/22 DOCKET NO. 16-00 517 DATE: February 15, 2022 ORDER A 100 percent schedular rating for the period prior to and after November 20, 2020, for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted. FINDING OF FACT Prior to and after November 20, 2020, the service connected psychiatric disability has been manifested by total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such as suicidal ideation with a plan and a persistent danger of the Veteran hurting himself. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a 100 percent schedular rating prior to and after November 20, 2020, for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.7, 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from June 1989 to April 1992; from January 2003 to August 2003; and from June 2004 to May 2013. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rating for PTSD Disability ratings are assigned in accordance with the Schedule for Rating Disabilities and are intended to represent the average impairment of earning capacity resulting from disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. Part 4. A 30 percent rating is warranted for PTSD which is productive of occupational and social impairment with an occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although the individual is generally functioning satisfactorily with routine behavior and normal self care and conversation) due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, and mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, and recent events). A 50 percent rating requires occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to symptoms such as flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks occurring more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short and long term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material or forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships. A 70 percent rating requires occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood due to symptoms such as suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant speech; 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 work like setting); and an inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. A 100 percent rating requires total occupational and social impairment due to symptoms such as gross impairment in thought processes or communication, persistent delusions or hallucinations, grossly inappropriate behavior, a persistent danger of hurting himself or others, an intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene), disorientation to time or place, and memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name. 38 C.F.R. § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411. The list of symptoms under the rating criteria are meant to be examples of symptoms that would warrant the rating, but are not meant to be exhaustive, and the Board need not find all or even some of the symptoms to award a specific rating. Mauerhan v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 436, 442-3 (2002). If two disability ratings are potentially applicable, the higher rating will be assigned if the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. Otherwise, the lower rating will be assigned. 38 C.F.R. § 4.7. VA clinical documentation dated in March 2018 and April 2018 notes that the Veteran exhibited suicidal ideation several times a month. VA clinical documentation dated in February 2019 and March 2019 states that the Veteran reported experiencing suicidal ideation with a plan. A March 2019 VA treatment record states that the Veteran reported being employed as "a job coach" for developmentally delayed adults. The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) observes that there is insufficient evidence of record to determine whether the reported employment was a sheltered position or more than marginal in nature. VA clinical documentation dated in February 2020 stated that the Veteran had suicidal ideation with a plan. The report of a November 20, 2020 psychological examination conducted for VA states that the Veteran complained of suicidal ideations, nightmares, anxiety, and depression. He reported having passive thoughts of suicidal one to two times per month. The Veteran indicated that he "currently works at Phase, working with handicapped adults." The examiner commented that: "he suicidal plan though admitted to passive suicidal ideations (sic);" "he reported he is not at risk for self harm;" and "the suicide risk level is not at elevated acute risk." Given the inarticulate wording, the Board is unable to discern what the examiner determined as to the danger of the Veteran harming himself and whether the reported employment was a sheltered position or more than marginal in nature. Prior to and after November 20, 2020, the service connected PTSD has been shown to be manifested by suicidal ideation with a plan and a persistent danger of the Veteran hurting himself. Such symptoms most closely approximated the criteria for a 100 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 9411. Therefore, a 100 percent schedular rating for the period prior to and after November 20, 2020, for PTSD is granted. 38 C.F.R. § 4.7. J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Smith, 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.