The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is granted. The issue of an evaluation higher than 10 percent for the service-connected head injury from shrapnel wound with subdural hematoma, cerebral edema, scarring, and retained shrapnel fragments (traumatic brain injury or TBI) is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's last work was in July 2014 and his service-connected disabilities rendered him unemployable from that date onward. The claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is granted as of July 15, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- head injury from shrapnel wound with subdural hematoma, cerebral edema, scarring, and retained shrapnel fragments (traumatic brain injury or TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191797
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 19191797.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for scarring was dismissed due to a procedural error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's previously denied claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and scarring are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of informed consent documentation for cryotherapy procedures performed on the Veteran's finger, which may have led to additional disability.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected lichen simplex chronicus with scarring, finding that his condition did not meet criteria for higher ratings based on exposure or other factors. The current rating is appropriate given the Veteran's symptoms and treatment.
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