The Veteran's headaches are rated at a 50 percent disability rating, and he is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks of migraines causing severe economic inadaptability. The vocational assessment also indicated that the Veteran's headaches cause an intolerable level of absenteeism from any place of employment, leading to a TDIU prior to January 17, 2019.
- Claimed conditions
- Headaches, Chronic Bronchitis, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine with Invertebral Disc Syndrome (IVDS) and Radiculopathy of the Bilateral Lower Extremities, Cervical Spine Strain with DDD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- November 4, 2020
- Citation
- A20016505
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 A20016505.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
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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