The veteran's appeal was not timely filed, and the October 1996 decision granting service connection for chronic costochondritis is considered final.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal within the required time frame.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic costochondritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2000
- Citation
- 0021348
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0021348.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic costochondritis and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for sleep apnea.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic costochondritis and remanded the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with antral gastritis from November 8, 2016.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for chronic costochondritis and a rating in excess of 30 percent from November 8, 2016, for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with antral gastritis for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for a higher rating for chronic costochondritis, finding that her symptoms more closely align with a moderate disability rather than a moderately severe or severe one.
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