The Board has granted service connection for a headache disability, but denied service connection for all other conditions due to lack of evidence linking them to service or service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headaches were found to be secondary to his service-connected chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment. The right shoulder, left hip, and knee disorders were not shown to have onset in service or within the one-year presumptive period for Camp Lejeune exposure. The low back disorder was also not shown to have onset in service or within the one-year presumptive period.
- Claimed conditions
- headache, right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, low back disorder, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, right knee disorder, hypertension (HTN), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), depression
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2023
- Citation
- 23063682
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 23063682.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
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