The Board denied service connection for brain damage and lesions, as well as a chronic headache disorder, finding no evidence of a current disability related to an in-service injury or event.
The deciding factor: There was no medical evidence linking the veteran's claimed conditions to his military service. The earliest documentation of these conditions post-service did not support a connection to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Brain damage and lesions, Chronic headache disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2009
- Citation
- 0900514
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 0900514.
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: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disorder and remanded several other claims, including those for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headache, hypertension, cervical spine, thoracic spine, shin splints, foot disorders, and tinnitus.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in addressing whether the Veteran's headache complaints, even if asymptomatic or resolved, are sufficient to establish a current disability and whether they are related to service-connected TBI with PTSD.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for PTSD due to military sexual trauma and a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD are remanded as the VA examinations did not consider his in-service misconduct.,The Veteran's claim for TBI residuals is remanded as there was no determination of whether he had an in-service TBI, and tinnitus, headaches, and fatigue may be related to this condition.,The Veteran's claims for cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, left ankle disorder, right ankle disorder, left foot disorder, and right foot disorder are remanded as the VA examinations did not consider his reported in-service injuries.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for further examination. The issues include cervical spine disability, vertigo or dizziness, and chronic headache disorder.
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