BVA Case 05-1462: PTSD
BVAReal Board of Veterans' Appeals decision · · MAYER
Conditions Claimed
PTSDDepressionBackHearing LossHipHeadacheTDIUEye
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
2026 base rates, all ratings (veteran alone)
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Referral disclosure: VetAid earns a referral fee if you become a paying REE Medical client through this link — it helps keep this site free. REE Medical provides paid medical evidence; it is not a law firm, VSO, or claims agent, and VetAid has not independently verified its services. VSOs and VA-accredited representatives will help you file your claim at no cost, and no one can guarantee a rating increase.
Issues on Appeal
PTSDDepressionBackHearing LossHipHeadacheTDIUEye
Why It Was Decided This Way
In remanding the reopened claim to the RO, the board noted that Comer had been diagnosed with PTSD and that “it generally appears that the diagnosis of PTSD is related to service.
Subsequently, on February 16, 2005, the board denied Comer’s request for an increased rating for the period from February 26, 1999, to May 5, 2004.
The RO awarded him a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD, but did not consider whether he also might be entitled to a TDIU award, which would entitle him to a 100 percent disability rating.
Roberson later sought to reopen his claim, asserting that the RO decision contained clear and unmistakable error (“CUE”) because the RO had failed to consider his entitlement to TDIU benefits.
To the contrary, the VA “has the affirmative duty to assist claimants by informing veterans of the benefits available to them and assisting them in developing claims they may have.
§ 5103(a), to inform him that he could only obtain benefits retroactive to December 29, 1988, the date of his initial claim, by filing a motion asserting that the RO’s initial determination that his PTSD was not service-connected contained CUE.
Where, as here, a veteran mounts a successful campaign to reopen a previously disallowed claim based on new and material evidence, he is likely to assume that he will have an opportunity to obtain the benefits to which he would have been entitled had he prevailed on his original claim.
The earliest effective date for an award based on a veteran’s request to reopen a final decision based on new and material evidence is generally the date that the application to reopen was filed.
Authorities Cited
Regulations Cited (38 CFR / 38 USC)
Denial Type
Not Service Connected|Not New Material|Duty To Assist|Cue
Find Similar Precedent for Your Claim
VetAid's analyzer maps your claim against thousands of real Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions like this one — surfacing the exact case law that supports your arguments.
Run my claim through VetAid →