The Board denied the appellant's request for an earlier effective date of June 1, 1999, for DIC benefits granted in her reopened claim. The appeal was based on a liberalizing law that became effective in 1993 and assigned an effective date more than one year after its enactment.
The deciding factor: The appellant's reopened claim was received in May 2000, which is more than one year after the August 24, 1993, effective date of the liberalizing law. Therefore, the assignment of an earlier effective date prior to June 1, 1999, is not warranted under the applicable regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety reaction, hearing loss, scar of the left little finger, healed perforation of the right tympanic membrane
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2003
- Citation
- 0308808
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 0308808.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a left wrist condition was dismissed due to concurrent election of higher-level review. The claims for an initial compensable rating for bilateral pes planus, and for service connection for hearing loss, neck strain, and dermatitis were denied.
- Dismissed
The claims for service connection for hearing loss and a left knee condition were dismissed due to an untimely notice of disagreement filed more than one year after the October 2022 rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
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