The Veteran's appeals for service connection for obstructive defects, skin disabilities, fibromyalgia, headaches, and depressive disorder have been dismissed.,Service connection has been granted for fibromyalgia, to include bilateral shoulder and hand joint pain.
The deciding factor: The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) in February 2018. The Veteran served in Southwest Asia from October 1990 to April 1991. At the time, he reported experiencing muscle cramps and joint pain after physical training runs, which he believed was the beginning of his fibromyalgia.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive defect, to include COPD and benign lung nodule, Skin disability, to include skin hemorrhage, Fibromyalgia, to include bilateral shoulder and hand joint pain, Headaches, Depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2018
- Citation
- 18127257
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 18127257.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as secondary to PTSD, but his headaches are denied due to lack of service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches, which manifested as very frequent and prolonged attacks causing severe economic inadaptability, are granted a 50 percent disability rating for the entire period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified a contradiction in the AOJ's determinations regarding the Veteran's need for aid and assistance, which requires clarification. The remanded issues are entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another and on the basis of statutory housebound status.
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