The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.,The Board has denied a higher rating for migraine headaches prior to November 18, 2016 and since then.
The deciding factor: Additional medical opinions are needed to address the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea and whether his migraine headaches caused or aggravated it.
- Claimed conditions
- migraine headaches, lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease (DDD), left lower extremity radiculopathy, right knee patellar tendonitis with degenerative joint disease (DJD) and chondromalacia patella, cervical bulge C3-4 with secondary degenerative disease and stenosis, allergic rhinitis, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19185070
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 migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 8, 2023, due to very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's lumbar spine pain, allergic rhinitis, and recurrent yeast infections. The claims for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder with alcohol use disorder and left knee pain were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's migraine headaches based on prostrating attacks occurring more than once a month and severe economic inadaptability.
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