The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a lipoma removal from the top of his head has been granted. His claims for left and right ankle disabilities, excluding Achilles tendonitis, have also been granted with effective dates based on when he first filed his initial claim. The Veteran's depressive disorder and obstructive sleep apnea are found to be related to his service-connected conditions, and his headaches are secondary to these disorders. Service connection has not been established for anemia or right knee chondromalacia.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise concerning the causal relationship between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and his claimed conditions (lipoma removal, left and right ankle disabilities, depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and headaches).
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a lipoma removal from the top of the head, left ankle disability (excluding Achilles tendonitis), anemia, right knee chondromalacia, depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, headaches, left knee scar, status post operation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20029906
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 20029906.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
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