The Board denied service connection for a stroke, difficulty swallowing, vision disability, bilateral foot drop, memory loss, mental confusion, severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, and non-toxic thyroid enlargement as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 VA examiner opined that there was no secondary relationship between the stroke and the service-connected PTSD due to multiple non-service-related comorbidities representing an overwhelming risk for a stroke, including diabetes, tobacco use, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The remaining disabilities were also denied as they could not be linked to the stroke which is not a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- cerebrovascular accident (stroke), difficulty swallowing, vision disability, bilateral foot drop, memory loss, mental confusion, severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, non-toxic thyroid enlargement
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25085828
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 A25085828.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that additional VA opinions are needed to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's dizziness, including benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and tension headaches, including migraines. The opinions should consider the Veteran's participation in a TERA and the combined effect of all his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's dizziness condition is rated at a 10 percent disability rating under Diagnostic Code 6204, as the evidence does not show occasional staggering. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability related to residuals of a heat stroke, claimed as memory loss. The claims for service connection for a back disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded due to a duty to assist error.
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