The Board has granted service connection for a headache disorder secondary to PTSD and major depressive disorder. The issues of increased ratings for left knee instability, right knee instability, left knee limitation of motion, and right knee limitation of motion are remanded.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on the Veteran's testimony during his hearing that his headaches were caused by his service-connected PTSD and major depressive disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Headache disorder, Low back disorder, Left ankle disorder, Left knee disability (instability), Right knee disability (instability)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20004534
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 20004534.
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's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ankle disability and headache disorder secondary to PTSD with alcohol use disorder have been granted increased ratings, effective September 16, 2018.
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