The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of service connection for a low back disability was denied as the only valid application to reopen his previously denied claim was received on March 13, 2000.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of an informal or formal claim, or written intent to file an application to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection for a low back disability after August 1986 and prior to the March 13, 2000, application to reopen. The veteran's representative did not provide sufficient information to support a claim of clear and unmistakable error in the previous denials.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Low back disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0904494
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding a causal relationship between the condition and an in-service incident of military sexual trauma (MST).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back disability, residuals of a right foot injury, sinusitis, shortness of breath, allergic rhinitis, and sleep apnea as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 29, 2019 for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
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