The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of TBI, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and PTSD are denied.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for TBI and PTSD are remanded for further development including VA examinations.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of migraines associated with a TBI is also remanded.
The deciding factor: There was no correspondence asserting these conditions prior to the dates assigned by the RO, and the claims were not granted until after the relevant periods.,The Veteran's last examinations were many years ago, and additional evidence of flare-ups and functional loss is needed for a proper evaluation.,The Veteran has not raised any issues with the duty to notify or duty to assist in regard to these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Lumbar Spine Disability, Radiculopathy of the Right Lower Extremity, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19189259
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · 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 19189259.
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 claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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