The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and a combined rating is denied. The effective date of his service connection cannot be earlier than June 13, 1996 due to the one-year rule after separation from active service. His current combined rating remains at 70%.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and a combined rating is denied because the law does not allow for an effective date prior to June 13, 1996 due to the one-year rule after separation from active service. The current combined rating of 70% remains unchanged.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disorder, residuals of a left arm wound
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- May 31, 2001
- Citation
- 0115050
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 0115050.
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 has remanded the claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disorder, skin disorder, tongue condition, right chest costochondritis, and right hand shaking due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that side effects from prescribed medications contributed substantially and materially to his accidental motorcycle collision resulting in fatal injuries.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for dermatitis/eczema, sleep apnea, a psychiatric disorder (including MDD and PTSD), hypertension, COPD, low back disorder, and prostate cancer are all granted. The Board found that the evidence supported these determinations based on direct service connection.
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