The Veteran's application to reopen claims for seizure disorder, cluster headaches (migraines), and headaches was granted. The claim for IBS remains denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports the reopening of the claims for seizure disorder and cluster headaches due to a history of symptoms during service and current diagnoses. For headaches, a private doctor's opinion linked the Veteran’s work conditions in service to his headache disability. Service connection was granted for these conditions based on presumed exposure (presumptive). The IBS claim remains denied as there is no evidence linking it to active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Seizure Disorder, Cluster Headaches (Migraines), Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183277
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19183277.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of rationale in the VA examiner's opinion and an inconsistency between the examination report and nexus opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is granted a rating of 30 percent, the maximum schedular rating under Diagnostic Code 7319. Service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to service connected tinnitus and PTSD is also granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for Traumatic Brain Injury and Seizure Disorder were granted with effective dates of April 18, 2019.,SMC at the housebound rate was also granted on this date.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of May 19, 2024, for a separate 10 percent rating for GERD. The decision states that prior to this date, ratings for GERD and Irritable Bowel Syndrome could not be combined due to VA regulations at the time.
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