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Dismissed

The veteran's appeal was dismissed because his substantive appeal to the Board with regard to an application to reopen a claim for service connection for back disability, and claims for increased ratings for residuals of an incision affecting the 11th and 12th intercostal nerves, and residuals of nephrolithiasis with a partial left nephrectomy and right pyelolithotomy was not filed within one year of notification of the initial rating decision or within 60 days of the statement of the case.

The deciding factor: The veteran did not perfect an appeal as to his application to reopen a claim for service connection for back disability, and claims for increased ratings for residuals of an incision affecting the 11th and 12th intercostal nerves, and residuals of nephrolithiasis with a partial left nephrectomy and right pyelolithotomy within the required time frame.

Claimed conditions
back disability, athlete's foot, dermatitis
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
February 4, 2004
Citation
0403134

Veterans Law Judge

THOMAS J. DANNAHER

Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · Granted: 17% (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 0403134.

What this means for you

A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.

What you can do next

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