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Denied

The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits due to the lack of a constructive application prior to April 2002, as no claim was pending on May 3, 1989 and VA did not provide notice regarding disability ratings and effective dates.

The deciding factor: VA is not required to anticipate potential claims where there is no intention to raise them, and the appellant's failure to apply for DIC benefits prior to April 2002 precludes an earlier effective date.

Claimed conditions
lung cancer
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 9, 2009
Citation
0913215

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 0913215.

What this means for you

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