The Board denied the appellant's request for an earlier effective date of April 25, 2000 for the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The decision stated that the earliest possible effective date was one year prior to the date of receipt of the appellant's reopened claim.
The deciding factor: The Board found that medical evidence alone is not sufficient to constitute an informal claim of service connection under VA regulations, and thus the February 1953 medical evidence from the Veteran's private treating physician regarding the Veteran's psychotic symptoms cannot serve as a claim of service connection. The earliest possible effective date for the RO's grant of the reopened claim was April 25, 2000.
- Claimed conditions
- psychosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2009
- Citation
- 0946907
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 0946907.
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: Denied
The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date for service connection of acquired psychiatric disabilities was denied as the earliest date entitlement arose is April 16, 2019, which is later than the date of receipt of his July 19, 2019 supplemental claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities, including bipolar disorder, PTSD, MDD with psychotic features, depression, anxiety, alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and psychosis are found to have begun during service or be related to in-service events. The claims for sleep disturbances and bilateral eye disabilities are remanded.
- Whole decision: Granted
The March 2000 rating decision denying service connection for psychosis and depression was revised to grant it, with an effective date of June 17, 1999.,The April 2013 rating decision granting PTSD with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks was revised to reflect a more recent effective date of June 17, 1999.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed psychiatric disability. The Veteran is seeking service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, which includes diagnoses of anxiety, psychosis, alcohol abuse in remission, and maladjustment.
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