The veteran's claim for pension benefits was received on April 16, 2001. The effective date for the grant of a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes is set at April 16, 2001, the date of receipt of his claim.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claim was received on April 16, 2001, and he was found to be permanently and totally disabled as of that date. The effective date for pension benefits is set at the date of receipt of the claim due to the lack of evidence supporting an earlier effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back pain, Herniated disc lumbosacral spine (post-surgery), Atrophy of the right thigh, Hepatitis C, External hemorrhoids
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2004
- Citation
- 0404853
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 541 · Granted: 32% (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 0404853.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable initial rating for Hepatitis C, finding that the Veteran's condition was asymptomatic and did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for eligibility in the PCAFC program due to insufficient evidence showing a need for personal care services, and thus denied the appeal.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for treatment purposes only under 38 USC Chapter 17 for a disability of the spine and migraine headaches, as there is no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and his military service.
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