The Veteran's claims for service connection for a urethral injury, and earlier effective dates for back and psychiatric disorders were denied. A right ankle disorder claim was remanded.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support the existence of current residuals from a urethral injury or that the Veteran had a back or psychiatric disorder prior to November 2, 2004, which would warrant an earlier effective date for service connection. The claims were reopened and granted based on new and material evidence received after the final denial in April 2003.
- Claimed conditions
- urethral injury, back disorder, psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0906369
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection and rating issues, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for pes planus (flat feet) and remanded several other issues, including service connection for various disorders and increased ratings for the right knee. The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right knee instability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of a psychiatric disability to correct an error in not securing an adequate medical opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, headaches, and a psychiatric disorder. The evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the skin disability was also denied.
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