The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for balance problems. The claim to reopen for service connection for headaches was granted, and the Veteran's headaches are found to be at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by her service-connected PTSD. The claims for service connection for sinus disorder, bilateral flat feet, and bilateral glaucoma are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board dismissed the appeal for balance problems due to the Veteran withdrawing her appeal. For headaches, new evidence was found that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim as they are at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by PTSD. The claims for sinus disorder, bilateral flat feet, and bilateral glaucoma were remanded as additional service treatment records need to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- balance problems, headaches, sinus disorder, bilateral flat feet, bilateral glaucoma
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184558
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 19184558.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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