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Denied

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD, finding that the earliest diagnosis was in March 2003 and thus November 20, 2002 is the earliest possible effective date.

The deciding factor: The earliest diagnosis of PTSD was in March 2003, which is considered the date entitlement arose. Therefore, an earlier effective date prior to November 20, 2002, cannot be assigned as it would not meet the requirement that the effective date is the later of the date entitlement arose or the date of receipt of the claim.

Claimed conditions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
70%
Decision date
April 7, 2006
Citation
0610229

Veterans Law Judge

NANCY RIPPEL

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 0610229.

What this means for you

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