The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a grant of nonservice-connected pension benefits, finding that the finality of the RO decision in October 1994 was not vitiated by any procedural errors and that the veteran did not file his reopened claim within one year of becoming permanently disabled.
The deciding factor: The Board found no grave procedural error as alleged concerning VA failure to obtain SSA records, which did not occur prior to the 1994 RO decision. The effective date for the pension benefits was fixed in accordance with the facts found and could not be earlier than the date of receipt of application.
- Claimed conditions
- unknown
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2002
- Citation
- 0217595
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 0217595.
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
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