The Board granted an initial 50 percent disability rating for headaches for the period prior to May 22, 2023, but denied an earlier effective date than May 10, 2016, for the grant of service connection for a headache disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headache disability met the criteria for a 50 percent rating due to very frequent prostrating and prolonged attacks that were productive of severe economic inadaptability, but there was no clear evidence supporting an earlier effective date than May 10, 2016.
- Claimed conditions
- headache disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- October 1, 2024
- Citation
- A24062260
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 772 · Granted: 31% (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 A24062260.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims regarding entitlement to service connection for a headache disability and entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 29, 2014, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for right tibiofibular ligament strain are being remanded due to the need for additional development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection and rating of left lower extremity radiculopathy, headache disability, and bilateral hearing loss due to an error in notifying the Veteran of her right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities due to incomplete records and potential errors in the RO decision.
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