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 assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2003
- Citation
- 0300362
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 191 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0300362.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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