The Board has determined that the effective dates for the grants of service connection for degenerative disease of the cervical spine, gait disturbance of the right lower extremity, and gait disturbance of the left lower extremity cannot be earlier than September 24, 1992 as there is no indication from the record of a claim or reopened claim prior to that date.
The deciding factor: The veteran's initial claims for service connection were not received until after September 24, 1992, and thus cannot be granted an effective date earlier than this date.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disease of the Cervical Spine, Gait Disturbance of the Left Lower Extremity, Gait Disturbance of the Right Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2003
- Citation
- 0306252
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 0306252.
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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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of his left foot, as there was no evidence showing that the service-connected conditions resulted in functional limitation equal to that of amputation of the left foot with prosthesis.
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