The Veteran's claim for service connection for a seizure disorder was reopened and granted, with the Board finding that his current seizure disorder is related to his service-connected traumatic brain injury (TBI).,Service connection for headaches, claimed as secondary to TBI, was denied. The Board found no medical nexus between the current headaches and either active service or a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's seizure disorder was diagnosed in 1974 following his head injury during service, which is related to his service-connected TBI.,There were no continuous or recurrent symptoms of headaches reported or treated since separation from service. The Board found the Veteran’s recent assertions of headache continuity after service are not reliable and outweighed by other evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Seizure Disorder, Headaches
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2020
- Citation
- 20011068
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 20011068.
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
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The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Veteran's OSA is granted as secondary to PTSD, but his headaches are denied due to lack of service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's headaches, which manifested as very frequent and prolonged attacks causing severe economic inadaptability, are granted a 50 percent disability rating for the entire period on appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for a 30 percent disability rating for his service-connected headaches, which was awarded with a noncompensable rating at 0 percent. The Board is remanding the claim due to inadequate examination and the need for a new VA examination to evaluate the severity of the Veteran's headaches without considering the ameliorating effects of any medication.
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