The Veteran's claims for service connection are granted for tinnitus, head injury (TBI), and headache disorder. The Board finds the Veteran has credible evidence of in-service events that support these claims. However, his claims for right total knee replacement, left ankle fracture, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are remanded as there is insufficient medical opinion to establish a nexus between his current conditions and service.
The deciding factor: The Board found the Veteran's statements regarding in-service events sufficient to support his claims of tinnitus, head injury (TBI), and headache disorder. However, for right total knee replacement, left ankle fracture, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), there is insufficient medical evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, head injury (TBI), headache disorder, right total knee replacement, left ankle fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19137540
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (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 19137540.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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