The Board has dismissed the appeal because the veteran's November 2005 statement, as amended by his February 2007 VA Form 9, asking for an earlier effective date is considered a freestanding claim and thus does not have legal merit.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not meet the criteria for service connection prior to April 17, 2003, when he filed his initial claim for PTSD. The Board dismissed this appeal as a freestanding earlier effective date claim is not valid under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Conversion Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2008
- Citation
- 0843075
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 0843075.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to a verified in-service stressor, and the positive and negative medical evidence is at least in equipoise.
- Whole decision: Granted
Your claim for a higher rating and service connection for PTSD has been granted. The new evidence supports reopening your case.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma was rated at 30% from May 4, 2011, to August 27, 2019. The rating was increased to 60% on September 25, 2019, and then to 100% effective that same day.,The Veteran is granted SMC at the housebound rate from December 7, 2018, to September 24, 2019.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete service personnel records, which are necessary to determine if the appellant's National Guard service was 'federalized' (i.e., Title 10 or Title 32 service).
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