The appeal for an increased rating was withdrawn by the Veteran, and the claim for an earlier effective date was denied as there is no basis for an award of service connection prior to February 20, 2002.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for cellulitis was not filed until February 20, 2002, and there is no evidence indicating an intent to apply for benefits between July 1973 and February 20, 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- cellulitis of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0906769
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0906769.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected disabilities and therefore, DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 are denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied across multiple conditions, including cellulitis of the right lower extremity, type II diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, erectile dysfunction, renal failure, lung cancer, and hypertension. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service.
- Granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's cellulitis of the right lower extremity is made worse by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and grants service connection for this condition on a secondary basis. The Board also finds that the Veteran's hypertension was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for cholecystectomy, cellulitis of the left and right lower extremities, and pancreatitis have been dismissed as he has withdrawn his appeal on these issues.
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