The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for residuals of head and ear injuries, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen his previously denied claim.
The deciding factor: The RO determined that the submitted evidence did not constitute new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the previously denied claim.
- Claimed conditions
- head injuries, ear injuries
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0401720
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,555 · Granted: 19% (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 0401720.
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: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for residuals of a head injury, including TBI and headaches, has been dismissed. The issue of entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's residuals of encephalitis and head injuries are related to his in-service encephalitis and reported head trauma, granting service connection for these conditions.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all service connection claims for various conditions including anxiety disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic kidney disease, sleep disorder, and head injuries.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of inpatient hospital records and need for a new VA examination.
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