The Veteran's Bell's palsy is found to have arisen within one year of his release from active duty, and thus service connection for residuals of Bell's palsy is granted. The claim for an undiagnosed illness as a result of Southwest Asia Theater of Operations service remains pending.
The deciding factor: Bell's palsy was diagnosed in March 1993, within one year of the Veteran's separation from active duty in May 1992, and is presumed to be related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bell's palsy, undiagnosed illness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2014
- Citation
- 1428321
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 1428321.
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 right hip pain, muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition are all granted service connection. However, the claims for muscle spasms, Bell's palsy, trouble breathing, and shaving profile/skin condition were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection of a cervical spine disability, as it is unclear whether his condition is due to his service-connected Bell's palsy and/or right eyelid scar. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for Bell's palsy and remanded the low back, radiculopathy, elbow, knee, and pes planus claims due to incomplete records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for Bell's palsy, right eye disability, lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to a failure to address if VA satisfied its duty to assist by obtaining private treatment records from Dr. O's office.
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