The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, bilateral foot condition, depressive disorder (claimed as insomnia), facial fungal infection, and headaches due to exposure to environmental hazards during her service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations. The evidence did not support a diagnosis of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The July 2014 Gulf War examination found no diagnosed illnesses for which no etiology was established and no undiagnosed or partially explained chronic multi-symptom illness attributable to environmental exposures during the Veteran's deployment in Southwest Asia. The examiner concluded that there were no continuous medications required for her irritable bowel syndrome.
- Claimed conditions
- irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, bilateral foot condition, depressive disorder (claimed as insomnia), facial fungal infection, headaches
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20033135
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 20033135.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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.
- 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.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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