The veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, and left shoulder disabilities were granted by the RO in March 2003 with effective dates of February 27, 1998, March 30, 2000, and January 12, 2000 respectively.,The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates are denied as they predate the effective dates granted by the RO.
The deciding factor: The effective dates were assigned based on the date of receipt of the formal or informal claim, which was after the initial denial in May 1979 and subsequent denials. The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates are not supported as they predate these effective dates.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical Spine Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Lumbar Spine Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2005
- Citation
- 0501962
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 0501962.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date before April 1, 2018 for a 20% rating for left shoulder disability was denied. The appeal also resulted in the assignment of a 20% rating from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018, and a TDIU granted from April 1, 2018 to September 3, 2025.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities, finding insufficient evidence to establish an in-service event or injury related to his shoulders. The Veteran's current shoulder conditions are not linked to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, right knee strain (painful motion), and right knee instability are now rated at 30 percent effective August 16, 2017.
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