Bozeman v. McDonald, No. 15-7020 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseBozeman served in the Army, 1967-1970, including one year in Vietnam. In 1993, Bozeman sought disability benefits after substance abuse treatment at a VA Medical Center. The VA awarded him service-connected benefits for PTSD, rated as 10 percent disabling. Bozeman’s condition deteriorated. His disability rating was increased to a 50 percent rating in 1999. In 2000, the VA denied an increased rating. Bozeman underwent a VA Compensation and Pension Examination (C&P) in 2002. Bozeman submitted a Notice of Disagreement with its conclusion. He was hospitalized in 2003 and 2004, for “suicidal and homicidal thoughts[,] . . . severe depression.” In 2005 a C& P examiner concluded that Bozeman suffered from “chronic PTSD symptomatology off and on for the last 25 years” and that he would have “difficulty . . . work[ing] in gainful employment.” In 2006, Bozeman’s rating was increased to 70 percent, effective February 2003, with a temporary 100 percent rating for the hospitalization. The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent prior to February 2003, and a rating in excess of 70 percent after February 2003, but granted a rating of 100 percent, effective November 2010. The Veterans Court affirmed. The Federal Circuit vacated. Bozeman’s argument that the Board failed to consider relevant evidence was not a new legal argument raised for the first time on appeal; the Board’s reliance on issue exhaustion was improper
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