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Denied

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD is denied. The Board found that there was no legal basis to grant an earlier effective date, and the most recent effective date assigned was August 25, 1986.

The deciding factor: There was no legal basis to assign an effective date prior to August 25, 1986, as the veteran did not file a claim within one year of service separation or provide evidence of entitlement before that time.

Claimed conditions
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Reopened with new and material evidence
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
100%
Decision date
May 9, 2000
Citation
0012281

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 0012281.

What this means for you

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Related decisions

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