The Veteran's request to reopen claims for right knee patellofemoral syndrome, right shoulder pain, chronic headaches, head injury with facial reconstruction (now claimed as traumatic brain injury), and cervical strain were denied. The claim for CTS of the right wrist was granted.,The Veteran's requests to increase his PTSD rating and service connection for substance abuse secondary to PTSD are remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the conditions occurred in or were caused by service, except for the positive nexus found for CTS of the right wrist. The claims for other conditions were denied as new and material evidence was not submitted.,VA medical records indicated a high risk for suicide and relapse on cocaine use, which could affect PTSD severity assessment.
- Claimed conditions
- carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist, cervical strain, chronic headaches, head injury with facial reconstruction (now claimed as traumatic brain injury (TBI)), right knee patellofemoral syndrome, right shoulder pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19163408
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19163408.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, leading to a TDIU rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's effective date for service connection of left leg amputation and associated scars, as well as SMC based on loss of use of the left leg, is set to January 28, 2022. The effective date for DEA eligibility is also set to January 28, 2022. An effective date prior to January 28, 2022, was denied for service connection of chronic headaches.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Granted
Service connection for chronic headaches and restoration of a 20 percent disability rating for the service-connected left wrist strain are granted.,The appeal to restore a higher disability rating for the broken right foot is dismissed.
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