The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of her right shoulder and left shoulder disabilities. The Board found that she has PTSD due to military sexual trauma during service, bilateral hip replacements related to service, migraines also related to service, and tinnitus related to in-service acoustic trauma.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's PTSD was determined to be caused by military sexual trauma during service, which is considered a personal assault. The Board found that her right shoulder, left shoulder, and neck conditions are not directly related to service but may be secondary to bilateral hip replacements.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability, left shoulder disability, major depressive disorder, migraines, neck condition, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), right shoulder disability, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19164802
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 19164802.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
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