The Board has granted an increased rating of 30 percent for migraine headaches, effective October 4, 2005. The issue of service connection for DDD secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right neck disability is remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to provide an opinion addressing whether the Veteran’s DDD was aggravated by his service connected right neck disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Migraine headaches, Degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19109891
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,934 · Granted: 41% (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 19109891.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability and other disabilities have been granted, including a TDIU based on his inability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to these conditions.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection and increased ratings were dismissed due to an improper concurrent election.
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