The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of disabilities of the lumbar spine and cervical spine, finding that no legal basis existed to assign such a date.
The deciding factor: The regulations governing effective dates for awards based on reopened claims after final disallowance do not allow for an earlier effective date than the date of receipt of the claim to reopen.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine, cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0416105
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 0416105.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including cervical spine, chronic fatigue, and various nerve damages, as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to in-service events.
- Granted
The veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine, finding that there was functional loss due to pain causing additional disability beyond that reflected on range of motion measurements.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, lumbar radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and lumbar radiculopathy of the left lower extremity. It also granted initial ratings for various disabilities including a 20 percent rating for lumbar degenerative disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome, spondylosis, and spondylolisthesis, a 30 percent rating for labral tear, including superior labral anterior-posterior lesion, status post surgical repair, and higher ratings for other conditions.
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