The Board has determined that the Veteran's headache disability is analogous to migraines with completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability, warranting a 50 percent rating. The lumbar spine disability remains remanded for further development, including obtaining a retrospective opinion regarding its severity throughout the appeal period. The issue of total disability due to individual unemployability is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headache disability has been found to be analogous to migraines with completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability, which corresponds to a 50 percent rating under DC 8100. The lumbar spine disability remains remanded as the retrospective opinion was not obtained in compliance with the Board's previous directives.
- Claimed conditions
- headache, lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2022
- Citation
- 22037520
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 22037520.
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 Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. Service connection is being remanded for the lumbar spine disability and right knee and calf disabilities.
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