Citation Nr: 20022026
Decision Date: 03/30/20	Archive Date: 03/30/20

DOCKET NO. 16-07 989
DATE: March 30, 2020

ORDER

Service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI) residuals is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Service treatment records (STRs) confirm a December 1975 motor vehicle accident with reports of severe headaches the following day and symptoms of increased intra-cranial pressure. The Veteran has presented competent and credible evidence (including during sworn February 2020 testimony before the Board) of headaches ever since the accident. 

2. An October 2014 VA neuropsychological evaluation note indicates the Veteran said that, to the best of his recollection, he began having cognitive problems after a car accident in service with decline in job performance and difficulty in college following service. The provider felt his neuropsychological testing was consistent with “mild TBI due to the [car accident] during military time” and specifically that “it is as likely as not that his current atypical profile, despite average scores, reflects some loss of capabilities in the cognitive realm.”

3. An April 2014 VA examination finding no current TBI residuals is inadequate because the examiner did not have the opportunity to consider the later October 2014 findings noted above, and a subsequent January 2016 VA opinion that dismisses those findings is similarly inadequate because it is based solely on a file review and not a full neuropsychological examination. 

4. Under the circumstances, the Board finds the evidence is at least in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran has neurological deficits and symptoms (i.e., headaches, loss of sustained attention, loss of cognitive capabilities) that are consistent with TBI residuals and related to a documented head injury in service.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI) residuals are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b) (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(b) (2019).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The appellant is a Veteran who served on active duty from September 1974 to April 1976. These matters are before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2014 rating decision. In February 2020, a hearing was held before the undersigned. For the reasons outlined above, the Board grants the Veteran’s appeal, obviating any need for further detailed discussion.

 

 

VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Yuan, Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.