The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected residuals of a cerebral concussion, manifested by headaches, as there was no objective evidence supporting an increase in frequency or severity of his headaches.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations and medical records did not show any changes in the veteran's headache pattern or intensity since previous evaluations.
- Claimed conditions
- Cerebral Concussion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2003
- Citation
- 0307184
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0307184.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected cerebral concussion residuals are rated at 10 percent, and a separate rating of 50 percent is granted for the secondary neurocognitive disorder. The right knee degenerative arthritis with instability and right knee instability are both denied ratings higher than 10 percent. A maximum separate rating of 10 percent is granted for symptomatic post-removal of semilunar cartilage from the right knee.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal of a reduction in his disability rating for cerebral concussion (now TBI) from 10 percent to noncompensable effective January 22, 1986. The decision found no clear and unmistakable error.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right knee instability, degenerative arthritis of the right knee, and cerebral concussion disabilities are being remanded for additional examinations to assess their current severity. The TDIU claim is also being remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claims.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's suicide was caused by PTSD, which is related to his in-service experiences. The appellant needs to provide additional information and a VA examiner will be consulted to determine if the Veteran had an acquired psychiatric disorder at the time of his death.
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