The VA reduced the veteran's disability evaluation from a 100% to a 10%, but this decision is void ab initio due to procedural errors, and the rating is restored.
The deciding factor: The RO failed to consider whether the reduction was proper due to the veteran's failure to report for examination, which could have been considered if he had presented good cause or additional evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- panic disorder with agoraphobia, tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 13, 2002
- Citation
- 0204411
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 0204411.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including tension headaches, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and a bilateral hearing loss disability. The Board also denied an initial compensable rating for the Veteran's headache disability.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for service connection for tension headaches, insomnia, and anxiety disorder due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for tension headaches, alternatively diagnosed as migraine headaches, finding that the evidence did not show characteristic prostrating attacks averaging one in 2 months over the last several months.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a retrospective medical assessment regarding the severity of the Veteran's headaches without medication to determine if an earlier effective date for a 50 percent disability rating is warranted.
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