The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to November 25, 1991 for the award of disability compensation benefits for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine and lumbosacral strain. The appeal is now remanded due to incomplete records and need for a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim was previously denied in December 1987, but he filed an application to reopen his claim on November 25, 1991. The Board found that the effective date could not be earlier than the date of receipt of his application to reopen.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, lumbosacral strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2002
- Citation
- 0200784
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 0200784.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain and lumbar radicopathy, right side, secondary to the lumbosacral strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Dismissed
The appeals for restoration of ratings and for a higher disability rating were dismissed as the April 2025 rating decision did not make final decisions on these issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, with the exception of remanding certain issues.
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