The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased disability ratings for his trapezius muscle spasm and restricted neck motion associated with head injury residuals, as well as his headaches. The current evaluations of 20 percent are considered appropriate based on the clinical evidence.
The deciding factor: The clinical evidence does not support a higher evaluation for either the trapezius muscle spasm or the headaches, given their subjective nature and the absence of neurological deficits such as hemiplegia or facial nerve paralysis.
- Claimed conditions
- trapezius muscle spasm, head injury residuals with headaches, occipital laceration scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- July 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0419655
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 0419655.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's head injury residuals with headaches are related to his in-service injury, and thus service connection is granted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims of earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for TBI residuals with migraine headaches, delusional disorder, and folliculitis are dismissed as he did not submit a notice of disagreement (NOD) regarding these issues.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's current left trapezius muscle strain is not related to an acute muscle spasm during service, and thus denied her claim for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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