The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date prior to February 3, 2000 for the grant of service connection for multiple sclerosis. The veteran was previously denied in a February 1996 rating decision and did not appeal it. His request to reopen his claim was received on February 3, 2000. Therefore, an effective date prior to February 3, 2000 is not warranted.
The deciding factor: The effective date of service connection based on new and material evidence following an earlier denial is the date of receipt of the new claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. In this case, the first medical evidence was in 1987, and the veteran's request to reopen based on new and material evidence was received on February 3, 2000.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple Sclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2006
- Citation
- 0629038
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 0629038.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple sclerosis, finding that it manifested to a degree of 10 percent or more within seven years of the Veteran's separation from service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for multiple sclerosis and remanded the claims for increased ratings due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and to obtain additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to obtain a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's death was due to multiple sclerosis, which may have been caused by in-service herbicide exposure.
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