The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of a skull fracture with concussion, finding that his headaches were symptoms of the service-connected condition and not separate disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no current psychiatric manifestations related to the service-connected skull fracture with concussion and determined that the veteran's complaints of headache were purely subjective.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, schizophrenia, paranoid type, depression with suicidal and paranoid ideation, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcoholism, abuse of various substances
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2001
- Citation
- 0115523
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0115523.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include unspecified depressive disorder with social anxiety disorder and PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an increased initial disability evaluation of headaches due to an inadequate VA examination.
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