The Board denied the veteran's claims for an effective date prior to December 29, 1995 for service connection and increased ratings for her scars. The RO found that she did not file a timely claim for VA compensation benefits within one year of her discharge from active duty.
The deciding factor: The veteran filed a claim for VA Vocational Rehabilitation in June 1992 which was granted, but the effective date for service connection was determined to be December 29, 1995. The RO also denied increased ratings for her scars as they did not meet the criteria for higher evaluations under the applicable rating schedule.
- Claimed conditions
- splenectomy, hypothyroidism, Hodgkin's disease, appendectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2003
- Citation
- 0308144
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0308144.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for hypothyroidism is denied, and the Board finds that service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease and bilateral foot condition should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypothyroidism and therefore denied their claim for service connection.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus was dismissed. The Board granted service connection for hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis with complications, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, vitamin deficiencies, memory/cognitive impairment, unexplained arthralgias, fatigue, hair loss, and bradycardia.
- Granted
The appellant is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits, effective September 1, 2020.
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