Traumatic brain injury (TBI) Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral foot condition (trench foot) has been reopened. The other issues remain pending and are evaluated on their merits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back and left knee disabilities are not related to service, and his right knee disability is not shown to be present. The Veteran's claimed TBI residuals have been remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining inpatient hospitalization records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board finds that the reduction of the rating for Traumatic Brain Injury from 70% to 10%, effective October 1, 2012, was proper as it did not result in a reduction of compensation payments.

The Board has determined that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran sustained an inservice traumatic brain injury and later developed migraine headaches secondary to this injury, warranting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeals for the issues of increased ratings for traumatic brain injury and bipolar I disorders, and post-concussion headache syndrome.

The Board is remanding the case for further development, including obtaining a supplemental opinion from the February 2014 examiner regarding whether the Veteran's cervical spine disability was aggravated by his service-connected lumbar strain and TBI.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding the increased ratings for PTSD, painful scar, mid scalp, scars of the mid scalp and right forehead, traumatic brain injury, and hearing loss.

The Veteran's claimed conditions, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), fever outbreak, sleep apnea, sero-negative polyarthritis, and traumatic brain injury, were not found to be related to service or service-connected conditions. The Board denied these claims as the evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection.

The Veteran is granted a 100 percent disability rating for PTSD and cognitive disorder, effective March 25, 2009. A 60 percent disability rating for HSV, type 2 is also granted, effective June 1, 2010.

The Board has granted service connection for a TBI and remanded the remaining claims due to need for additional development.

The Board found that the Veteran's head injury during service was due to his willful misconduct, and therefore not incurred in line of duty. As a result, the claim for service connection for Traumatic Brain Injury is denied.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and initial evaluations for his PTSD, major depressive disorder, mechanical cervical muscle strain, and mechanical lumbar strain have been withdrawn. The case is being remanded to obtain updated VA treatment records and a neurological examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for TBI and headaches, as well as a claim for TDIU, are being remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated as 30 percent prior to October 13, 2009; 50 percent from October 13, 2009 to December 28, 2011; and 70 percent from December 29, 2011 to March 10, 2014. The Veteran's migraine headaches have been dismissed.

The Veteran does not have a permanent total service-connected disability, and therefore does not meet the criteria for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35 of Title 38 U.S.C.A.

The Board has granted service connection for recurrent TBI residuals and recurrent right eye injury residuals including traumatic retrobulbar optic neuropathy, as well as entitlement to SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ due to erectile dysfunction. The Veteran's PTSD is currently evaluated at 50 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for depressive disorder NOS. The remaining claims are remanded for additional development.

The Board has remanded the case due to inconsistencies in a previous VA examination report and the need for additional medical records. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered after these actions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and records.