Traumatic brain injury (TBI) decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.

The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.

The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.

The Board denied service connection for residuals of frostbite of the bilateral hands and feet due to a lack of evidence showing current diagnoses or symptoms related to these conditions during or proximate to the pendency of the claims.

The appeal for service connection for traumatic brain injury has been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Board granted a separate 30 percent rating for TBI residuals, including vertigo, dizziness and sensitivity to light from April 18, 2019. The appeal for a higher rating for PTSD was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 1, 2021, for service connection for migraine headaches and seizure disorder but denied the same for PTSD with TBI.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral plantar fasciitis, chronic pain syndrome, sciatic radicular pain of both legs, traumatic brain injury (TBI), shin splints of both legs, thoracic spondylosis, right shoulder strain, right wrist strain, acne, and allergic rhinitis.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and a right shoulder disorder as there was no probative evidence of current disabilities as defined by VA.

The Board remands the service connection claim for a traumatic brain injury to ensure that VA's duty to assist is followed and that the Veteran is afforded every possible consideration.

The veteran withdrew his appeal for increased ratings for PTSD, posttraumatic cephalgia due to TBI, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for residuals of traumatic brain injury and migraine headaches due to the Veteran not reporting for scheduled VA examinations, which were deemed necessary to assess the severity of these disabilities.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for low back osteoarthritis and traumatic brain injury to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, as the Veteran failed to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.

The Board granted an effective date of April 5, 2018, for the award of service connection for PTSD and denied earlier effective dates for erectile dysfunction, left ear hearing loss, migraines, and other conditions.

The Board remands the claims for a disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD with TBI and a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for headaches as secondary to PTSD with TBI due to a duty to assist error.

The Board granted service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic migraines secondary to the TBI, and peripheral vestibular disorder secondary to the TBI.

The appeal seeking entitlement to service connection for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) was dismissed because the February 2025 rating decision did not adjudicate this issue and an implementing decision by the agency of original jurisdiction is not appealable to the Board.