The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected residuals, simple fracture, nasal bones, with chronic sinusitis and sinus headaches. The criteria for a higher rating were not met as there was no evidence of three or more incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's sinus disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 6513, which is applicable to chronic maxillary sinusitis. The Veteran had three non-incapacitating episodes and one incapacitating episode in the past year.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals, simple fracture, nasal bones, chronic sinusitis, sinus headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20003596
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 20003596.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome as there is no evidence of a current disability in the record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for chronic sinusitis and remanded the claim for a lumbar spine disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking readjudication of the previously denied claim for PTSD and multiple other conditions is dismissed due to a procedural defect. The Veteran's authorized representative at the time the appeal was submitted did not have the authority to file the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their claims for service connection for chronic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
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