The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for cerebellar ataxia (also claimed as stiff person syndrome) due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, which is presumed for veterans who served there during a specific period. The Board found the medical opinions supportive of a link between the Veteran's condition and his service.
- Claimed conditions
- cerebellar ataxia, stiff person syndrome
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002526
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (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 20002526.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted an earlier effective date of March 26, 2014 for the award of a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits. The Board found that she had been unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment due solely to service-connected disabilities from March 26, 2014.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate rating for weakness in the left and right lower extremities due to cerebellar ataxia, an initial rating of 60 percent for cerebellar ataxia under Diagnostic Code 6205, and total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective March 9, 2017.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cerebellar ataxia, kidney stones, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as the Veteran's claimed conditions were not incurred during his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for cerebellar ataxia to correct pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining private treatment records and SSA disability benefit records.
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