The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with disc extrusion was denied as the April 1975 decision that initially denied service connection is final and no new and material evidence to reopen the claim was received prior to April 28, 1999.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran was properly notified of the April 1975 decision denying service connection for a low back disorder and did not appeal it within one year. Therefore, the April 1975 decision is final, and no earlier effective date can be assigned based on new evidence received after that date.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative arthritis with disc extrusion
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2008
- Citation
- 0814431
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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