The Veteran's heart condition (syncope) is not service connected. The claims for right and left hip disabilities secondary to the back disability are granted, as well as the claim for depressive disorder due to service-connected migraines, knee disabilities, and a back disability. The rating for migraines remains at 30 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's heart condition is not linked to her service. The right and left hip disabilities are found to be secondary to her service-connected back disability. The depressive disorder is found to be caused by the Veteran's service-connected migraines, knee disabilities, and a back disability. The rating for migraines remains at 30 percent as there is no evidence of very frequent prostrating and prolonged attacks.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart condition (claimed as syncope), Depressive disorder, Right hip disability secondary to back disability, Left hip disability secondary to back disability, Migraines
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102711
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for additional VA examinations to properly evaluate the current severity of her disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's depressive disorder was granted a 70 percent disability rating from April 27, 2020 to August 15, 2022, and a TDIU was also granted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 5, 2018, for the award of service connection for PTSD and denied earlier effective dates for erectile dysfunction, left ear hearing loss, migraines, and other conditions.
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