The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for arthritis of both feet, finding that no earlier effective date is authorized under applicable laws and regulations.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim was initially denied in March 1971 due to a pre-existing condition not aggravated by service. The claim was reopened in January 1991, but the effective date could not be set before January 11, 1991 as no earlier claim had been filed.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the tarsal joints of both feet
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- May 1, 2003
- Citation
- 0308262
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0308262.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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