The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected trigeminal neuralgia, and has remanded his claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating than 10 percent for the Veteran's trigeminal neuralgia due to moderate, incomplete paralysis. The Board also noted that VA failed its duty to assist in obtaining relevant medical records from Springwood Lake Family Medicine and ordered these records to be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- trigeminal neuralgia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20021344
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 20021344.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for skull injury/traumatic brain injury and trigeminal neuralgia, finding that there is no current disability related to active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him in need of the aid and attendance of another person, leading to a grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral arm numbness is related to his military service and grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for Bell's palsy and trigeminal neuralgia, finding that there was no current disability of Bell's palsy or chronic residuals related to it. For trigeminal neuralgia, the Board found insufficient evidence linking the condition to burn pit exposure during active duty.
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