The Veteran's posttraumatic headaches have been rated at 30 percent since January 31, 2012.,Cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders are both remanded for further evaluation.,Residuals of TBI are also remanded for further evaluation.,Hypertension is remanded to determine if it is secondary to service-connected TBI or PTSD.,Right ear pain associated with the TBI is also remanded for a determination on its etiology.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's posttraumatic headaches have been found to cause prostrating attacks, warranting a 30 percent rating since January 31, 2012.,Cervical and thoracolumbar spine disorders require further evaluation due to the remand instructions.,Residuals of TBI need to be evaluated for their severity and any associated symptoms.,Hypertension must be determined if it is secondary to service-connected TBI or PTSD.,Right ear pain needs to be assessed as a potential symptom of the Veteran's TBI.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic headaches, Cervical spine disorder, Thoracolumbar spine disorder, Residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069540
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20069540.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial claim for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for a brain hemorrhage was denied. The reduction of the rating for service-connected lumbar spine disability from 40 percent to 20 percent effective April 8, 2015, and the reduction of the rating for service-connected traumatic brain injury (TBI) from 40 percent to 10 percent effective April 8, 2015, were granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and psychiatric disorder due to incomplete information. The Veteran needs to provide his complete service personnel records, verify his alleged combat experience in Vietnam, and undergo VA examinations for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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