The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for depression, finding that the February 1980 denial is final and that the earliest possible date for the grant of benefits was October 21, 1998.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the legal authority that the effective date of an award based on a reopened claim will be the day of receipt of claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. The veteran's earliest submission subsequent to the February 1980 RO denial was his October 21, 1998 petition to reopen his claim.
- Claimed conditions
- depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2001
- Citation
- 0108674
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 0108674.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for depression was dismissed as the claim was fully resolved by a subsequent rating decision. The appeal for service connection for anxiety was denied due to insufficient evidence of a current disability.
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