The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for narcolepsy was denied. The RO had previously denied his initial claim in June 1974, which is final and binding on him based on the evidence then of record. He did not file a timely appeal to that decision, nor did he provide any new or material evidence to reopen the claim.
The deciding factor: The veteran's initial claim for service connection was denied in June 1974 due to lack of timely appeal and no new or material evidence provided to reopen the claim. The effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the original claim, which is May 7, 1998.
- Claimed conditions
- narcolepsy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2007
- Citation
- 0734182
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0734182.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for narcolepsy and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his claims.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim for service connection of narcolepsy due to errors in fulfilling its duty to assist and lack of a VA examination.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied an increased rating for narcolepsy, finding the evidence did not show the Veteran experienced seizures as required for a higher rating.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied an evaluation greater than 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected narcolepsy, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the frequency and type of seizures.
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