The Board granted service connection for a headache disability and denied an initial compensable rating for traumatic brain injury (TBI), while remanding the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headache disability was found to be etiologically related to his active service, whereas the TBI did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The psychiatric disability required further examination due to an inadequate VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- headache disability, psychiatric disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- March 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25021271
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (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 A25021271.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbar spine disability, right hand disability, left hip disability, TBI, and left knee disability have all been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.,Specifically, the VA examination in December 2019 determined that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to his military service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.