The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection is without legal merit and therefore denied.
The deciding factor: There was no pending claim for service connection prior to July 10, 2002, when the initial claim was received. The law mandates that the effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral interstitial fibrosis, unilateral pleural disease consistent with asbestosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 19, 2007
- Citation
- 0721786
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 0721786.
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 cases for further development and examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including bilateral interstitial fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, and sleep apnea. The issues include determining if the Veteran's diabetes is secondary to his service-connected condition and whether he had undiagnosed sleep apnea during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate nexus opinion and requests for additional medical records. The Veteran's respiratory disability, claimed as asbestosis, is being reviewed again.
- Granted
The Veteran's prostate cancer is granted service connection based on in-service herbicide exposure.,The Veteran's bilateral interstitial fibrosis claim is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is needed to include obtaining private treatment records and an etiology opinion on the Veteran's respiratory disability, including exposure to asbestos. The case is REMANDED for these actions.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.