The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a deviated nasal septum, and various musculoskeletal disabilities (back, right wrist, left ankle, left shoulder, hips) as well as recurrent UTIs and a left heel spur. These conditions are presumed to have been incurred during the Veteran's service in the Gulf War theater of operations.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had objective indications of chronic disabilities resulting from undiagnosed illnesses or medically unexplained multi-symptom illnesses, which were present for at least six months and could not be attributed to a known clinical diagnosis. The conditions are presumed to have been incurred during her service in the Gulf War theater.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder (major depressive disorder), deviated nasal septum, limited range of motion of the spine, limited range of motion of the right wrist, limited range of motion of the left ankle, limited range of motion of the left shoulder, limited range of motion of the hips, right middle finger joint pain, recurrent UTIs, left heel spur
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2014
- Citation
- 1403136
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 1403136.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's deviated nasal septum was granted service connection. The claims for anxiety and sleep disturbance, erectile dysfunction, headaches, acid reflux, hypertension (high blood pressure), irritable bowel syndrome, and jaw condition were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable disability rating for the Veteran's deviated nasal septum, finding that there were no compensable symptoms and that the evidence did not support a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability, meeting the schedular criteria for a TDIU throughout the appeal period. However, conflicting work history makes it impossible to determine his employment status during the period on appeal.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected deviated nasal septum did not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating, as it did not result in 50-percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side. Therefore, the appeal is denied.
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