The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher rating for his painful scar on the left forehead or disfiguring scar on the left forehead, as there is no evidence of more than one scar with instability or pain, or visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of one feature or paired set of features. The Veteran's migraines are not manifested by very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.,The Veteran does not have a current disability of heart disease, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, GERD, back disability, left carpal tunnel syndrome, or right carpal tunnel syndrome. The evidence does not establish exposure to Agent Orange. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's migraines are currently rated at 30 percent under DC 8100 and the criteria for a higher rating (50%) require very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The evidence does not show that the Veteran experiences such attacks.
- Claimed conditions
- Painful scar on left forehead, Disfiguring scar on left forehead, Migraines
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- A20018267
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 A20018267.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his migraine headaches was denied as the evidence did not show that his migraines were productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD with TBI is rated at 70 percent, which is denied as the criteria for a higher rating are not met.
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