Stunning New CAVC Decision Will Help Us to Argue for Higher Ratings in your PTSD Case
On January 5, 2018, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims issued a stunning decision in Emerson v. Shulkin (No.16-4086) stating that the VA must engage in holistic analysis of the symptoms from which a veteran suffers in determining the appropriate level of disability rating. After this decision, it will no longer be sufficient for an agency to simply rattle off a list of symptoms and arrive at a conclusion for rating purposes. For us, this means that we must make a list of all the symptoms from which you suffer and then analyze how each symptom adversely affects you in the performance of your duties based upon the severity, frequency and duration of each symptom. This will enable us to effectively argue for a rating that best approximates your level of social and occupational impairment in DOD, USCG, NOAA and USPHS disability proceedings; in other words, this is a good thing! I have attached a copy of this decision at the top of this post for you to download and review at your leisure.