The veteran's appeal for an effective date prior to July 21, 2003 for additional compensation benefits based on dependents is denied as he did not meet the eligibility requirements under the law at the time of the October 1978 effective date.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not have dependents who met the eligibility criteria (existence of dependents) for the liberalized law at the time it took effect in October 1978, and thus was not entitled to retroactive benefits under the VCAA provisions.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- December 4, 2006
- Citation
- 0637448
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 0637448.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for psychiatric disorder, right shoulder condition, and right knee condition due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction due to insufficient evidence or further clarification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate VA examination and opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's current psychiatric condition, including PTSD, and service. The Veteran is also not entitled to a rating or effective date as this matter is being remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity is granted as service connected. The left knee disability and psychiatric disorder are remanded for further development.
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