The Veteran's increased rating claim for migraines was denied as his symptoms do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,Service connection for back disability and prostate cancer were both remanded due to insufficient evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: There is no sufficient evidence to establish that the Veteran’s current back disability or prostate cancer are related to his military service, including exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- Migraines, Back Disability (Spinal Stenosis, Degenerative Arthritis, IVDS), Prostate Cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19177509
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 19177509.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his migraine headaches was denied as the evidence did not show that his migraines were productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension and prostate cancer residuals (voiding dysfunction) have been granted increased ratings of 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
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