The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a traumatic brain injury and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran suffers from TBI related to his military service, as there are no current diagnoses of TBI in service treatment records or post-service medical evidence, and the VA examiners' opinions concluded it was less likely than not that a condition was incurred in or caused by a claimed in-service injury.
- Claimed conditions
- traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2021
- Citation
- 21061689
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 granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral plantar fasciitis, chronic pain syndrome, sciatic radicular pain of both legs, traumatic brain injury (TBI), shin splints of both legs, thoracic spondylosis, right shoulder strain, right wrist strain, acne, and allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for a traumatic brain injury to ensure that VA's duty to assist is followed and that the Veteran is afforded every possible consideration.
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