The Veteran's increased rating claims for left elbow epicondylitis and impairment of forearm as due to left elbow epicondylitis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's low back strain has been denied with a 10% rating prior to July 20, 2016 and a 20% rating from that date. The Veteran's tension headaches claim has also been denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his increased rating claims for left elbow epicondylitis and impairment of forearm as due to left elbow epicondylitis in May 2019.,For the period prior to July 20, 2016, the criteria for a 10% rating for low back strain have not been met. For the period from July 20, 2016, the criteria for a 20% rating have not been met.,The Veteran's tension headaches are not characterized as 'prostrating' in nature.
- Claimed conditions
- Left elbow epicondylitis, Impairment of left forearm as due to left elbow epicondylitis, Low back strain, Tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178806
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19178806.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches, which have been service-connected since the grant of service connection, are found to be very frequent and completely prostrating with prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Board grants an initial 50 percent rating for tension headaches prior to December 1, 2020.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hearing loss and low back strain claims are remanded for further evaluation. The hearing loss claim is denied, while the low back strain claim requires additional examination to determine its severity.
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