The Board denied readjudication of entitlement to total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC), but remanded the claims for service connection for a mental health disability and headaches.
The deciding factor: The evidence submitted after the last final denial was not new and relevant, thus it cannot be used to readjudicate the TDIU and SMC claims. A VA examination is needed for the mental health claim as there are symptoms reported but no medical opinion provided.
- Claimed conditions
- Migraines, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25102685
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 A25102685.
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 Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his migraine headaches was denied as the evidence did not show that his migraines were productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent effective September 25, 2024. The issue of migraines (headaches) is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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