The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities did not impact his ability to work, and the evidence does not indicate they precluded substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- scar from right frontal craniotomy, headaches, generalized constriction visual field of the right eye with painful scars and residuals of traumatic brain injury, injury of the right temporalis muscle, paralysis of the right 7th nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19106044
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an increased initial disability evaluation of headaches due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including cervical spine and thoracolumbar spine disabilities, radiculopathies, a bladder disability, headaches, a left knee disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and bilateral conjunctivitis. The Board also granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.