The Veteran's service connection claim for fibromyalgia is granted. The claims for back disability, headache disability, memory loss, and speech disability are reopened.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a new opinion supporting the Veteran’s fibromyalgia diagnosis, which was not considered at the time of the previous denial in 1997.
- Claimed conditions
- fibromyalgia, back disability, headache disability, memory loss, speech disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19117306
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 19117306.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims regarding entitlement to service connection for a headache disability and entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 29, 2014, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for right tibiofibular ligament strain are being remanded due to the need for additional development.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
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