The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for head or brain trauma resulting in organic impairment and cognitive changes.
The deciding factor: No head injury by direct trauma or explosive concussion was shown in the objective service treatment records, no adverse symptoms such as cognitive brain changes were noted at any time during or for decades after service separation, and a preponderance of the competent and objective medical evidence on file was against a finding that cognitive changes are attributable to incidents of military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Head or brain trauma resulting in organic impairment and cognitive changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0904699
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · 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 0904699.
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.
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- Whole decision: Denied
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- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
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