The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD, finding that no formal or informal claims were filed between May 1997 and August 2004. The provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c) do not apply to this case.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a formal or informal claim for service connection for PTSD until 1997, which was denied in May 1997. No new evidence was submitted between the denial and August 2004 when the Veteran filed an application to reopen his claim. The effective date of the award of service connection for PTSD is fixed at the date of receipt of the reopened claim (August 11, 2004).
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2012
- Citation
- 1212873
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 1212873.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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