The Veteran's depressive disorder and migraine headaches are related to his service-connected disabilities. The right upper extremity radiculopathy, hypogonadism status post testicle removal, osteoarthritis of the right ankle (previously rated as right foot talar cyst), left shoulder disorder, left and right elbow disorder, left and right hand disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder (secondary to service-connected right ankle disability), left ankle disorder, left foot disorder, right foot disorder (other than a talar cyst) (secondary to service-connected right ankle disability), left upper extremity radiculopathy (secondary to service-connected cervical spine disability), and sleep apnea are all granted. The effective dates for these grants have not been met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's depressive disorder and migraine headaches were found to be related to his service-connected disabilities, specifically the cervical spine disability that caused his right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder, Migraine Headaches, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125634
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (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 19125634.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's 50% disability rating for migraine headaches was restored as the evidence did not show actual improvement in his ability to function under ordinary conditions of life and work.
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