Traumatic brain injury (TBI) decisions — 2024

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50% and his TBI residuals are rated at 30%. The Board has decided that the Veteran should be remanded for further review of his PTSD claim, but not for a separate rating on his TBI residuals.

The Board has granted service connection for sciatica on both sides and migraine headaches. Service connection for residuals of TBI and right plantar fibroma (claimed as fasciitis) is remanded.

The Veteran's TBI was rated at 10 percent, and the Board has remanded the case for further development. The initial rating for migraine headaches remains at 0 percent.

The Veteran's TBI residuals require a higher level of care, and he is not eligible for SMC(r)(2). The Board granted the Veteran SMC(t) at the 50% rate.

The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, requiring an opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his weight gain and if that contributed to his sleep apnea.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for separate disability ratings for TBI and PTSD, finding that the symptoms are not distinct enough to warrant separate evaluations.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of August 30, 2017, for the award of service connection for major depressive disorder with anxious distress associated with traumatic brain injury.,The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to August 30, 2018, is denied.

The Board has granted effective dates of July 31, 2019 for the service connection of residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a back disability, and a neck disability. The Veteran's claims were initially denied in February 1981 but were continuously pursued until they were readjudicated on July 31, 2019.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and denied entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) prior to November 22, 2023. The Veteran's TDIU was granted on November 22, 2023.

The Veteran's PTSD with insomnia disorder and TBI have been rated, but the GERD/IBS/colonic polyps issues are being remanded for further development. The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 50 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. His TBI is rated at 10 percent, also not meeting the criteria for a higher rating. The GERD/IBS/colonic polyps issues are being remanded and will be considered in their own right.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of a 100 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder with insomnia disorder and residuals of traumatic brain injury (previously rated as organic brain syndrome) is being remanded due to incomplete evidence in the claims file.

The Veteran's appeal involves the revision of a June 2018 rating decision that combined PTSD and TBI ratings, resulting in a single 70% disability rating. The Veteran argues for separate ratings due to overlapping symptoms.

The Board has dismissed the appellant's appeals for service connection on all nine issues due to her AMA opt-in from the August 2024 SSOC.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to a permanent and total rating for PTSD with insomnia, TBI, and IBS due to a pre-decisional error in obtaining medical opinions on the permanency of these conditions.

The appeal for service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury is dismissed as no timely appeal was initiated.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence was not submitted to readjudicate the previously denied claims for service connection for TBI and GERD. The Veteran's claims remain denied as the submitted evidence does not meet the criteria for readjudication.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating above 30 percent for PTSD is dismissed as moot because it was already adjudicated in a previous Board decision.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating above 10 percent for TBI during the review period (from October 20, 2020, through December 16, 2020) has been remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, and will consider each issue individually.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, sleep apnea, traumatic brain injury, vertigo, low back disability, left ankle and right ankle disabilities, left arm and right arm disabilities, left elbow and right elbow disabilities, left foot and right foot disabilities, left hand little finger, right hand little finger, left hand index finger, right hand index finger, left hand long finger, right hand long finger, left hand ring finger, right hand ring finger, left hand thumb, right hand thumb, left knee, right knee, left lower extremity neuropathy, and right lower extremity neuropathy have been remanded due to insufficient evidence.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for left upper extremity cold exposure, right upper extremity cold exposure, left wrist disability, and right wrist disability have also been remanded.

The July 2020 rating decision granted a TDIU, but did not result in any past-due benefits. The appeal is denied as the Appellant's services were provided before the date on which the Veteran was notified of the initial decision.