The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 30 percent rating for his service-connected migraine including migraine variants is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors and the need for additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that there were pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors, specifically regarding obtaining private treatment records from a provider who treated the Veteran's migraines and discounting the ameliorative effects of medication in assessing functional impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Migraine including migraine variants
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- March 4, 2026
- Citation
- A26019239
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 A26019239.
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 is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to her service-connected acquired psychiatric disabilities, including major depressive disorder and migraines.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability of the left ear for VA compensation purposes and denied service connection for left ear hearing loss. The rating decision also remanded issues regarding migraine including migraine variants and tinnitus due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered her unemployable, but an award of special monthly compensation at the housebound rate is not for assignment due to the presence of other service-connected conditions. Therefore, entitlement to a TDIU is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including heart condition, lung condition, peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities, bilateral plantar fasciitis with bone spurs, left kidney cyst, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis C, migraine, and chronic allergic rhinitis.
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