The Board granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the statutory housebound rate prior to October 28, 2020, but denied an initial disability rating greater than 50 percent for migraines.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's migraines cause severe economic inadaptability, preventing substantial employment, and she meets the criteria for TDIU based on a single service-connected disability (migraines).
- Claimed conditions
- migraines
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25034696
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for migraines, finding that his symptoms more closely approximate a 30 percent disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for migraines, including as secondary to cervical strain, due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors in not translating relevant Spanish documents and ensuring a VA examiner considered all evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a restoration of the separate 10 percent rating for vertigo, an earlier effective date for service connection for vertigo and migraines, and a 30 percent rating for hypothyroidism with heart murmur. The decision also denied an earlier effective date for hypertension and remanded claims for obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and individual unemployability.
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