The Board has granted increased evaluations for thalamic pain syndrome of the left upper and lower extremities, but denied an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for weakness of facial muscles due to lacunar ischemic infarction.
The deciding factor: The evidence demonstrated moderate disablement for both upper extremity conditions, warranting a 40% rating. The lower extremity condition was characterized as mildly disabling and thus warranted a 20% evaluation. Weakness of the facial muscles did not meet criteria for higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- thalamic pain syndrome of the left upper extremity, thalamic pain syndrome of the left lower extremity, weakness of facial muscles
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2003
- Citation
- 0300362
Veterans Law Judge
Acting
Decisions by this judge: 191 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0300362.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Whole decision: Denied
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- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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