The Veteran's initial compensable rating for posttraumatic headaches and a rating in excess of 10 percent for traumatic brain injury were denied. The evidence did not meet the criteria for these ratings, as the Veteran did not have characteristic prostrating attacks or severe economic inadaptability.
The deciding factor: The VA examination findings did not indicate that the Veteran experienced characteristic prostrating headaches, and his symptoms did not warrant a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 8100. For traumatic brain injury, the evidence did not meet the criteria for cognitive impairment at any level, as there were no complaints of impaired consciousness or other severe impairments.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic headaches, Traumatic brain injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- A19000781
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 A19000781.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right wrist pain, left wrist pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, and a traumatic brain injury as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the Veteran's petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for degenerative changes and disc space narrowing, C4/C5, C5/C6 and C6/7 neck injury and a traumatic brain injury based on new and relevant evidence. The claims for a cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and bilateral radiculopathy with sciatica were remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and assistance of another person due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings for PTSD with TBI and posttraumatic headaches, resulting in the dismissal of these claims.
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