The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for his right shoulder sprain was dismissed. The Board granted a TDIU effective February 11, 2008, due to the severity of his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s cognitive disorder with bipolar disorder and traumatic brain injury (TBI), right shoulder sprain, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and migraine headaches rendered him unable to maintain substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Right shoulder sprain, Cognitive disorder with bipolar disorder and traumatic brain injury (TBI), Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107583
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19107583.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for traumatic brain injury and migraine headaches due to right eye removal are granted. The claim for a compensable evaluation of xeroderma of the right eye is remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased initial disability rating for migraine headaches, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not meet the criteria for a 50% rating due to lack of very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased ratings were dismissed due to an improper concurrent election.
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