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Denied

The Board has determined that the claim for an effective date earlier than April 17, 2003, for the award of a 70 percent rating for PTSD is without legal merit and therefore denied.

The deciding factor: There was no pending claim for increase prior to May 23, 2003, or evidence that the service-connected PTSD had increased in severity so as to warrant a 70 percent rating prior to April 17, 2003 and within the one year period prior to the May 23, 2003 claim for increase.

Claimed conditions
PTSD
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
70%
Decision date
December 12, 2007
Citation
0739111

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 0739111.

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

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