The Board found that the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date was without legal merit due to the finality of a December 1976 decision denying service connection, and no new and material evidence had been submitted within one year. The current claim for reopening the service connection issue was filed in February 2009.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's initial claim for service connection was denied due to failure to report for a VA examination without providing a valid reason or submitting new and material evidence, leading to the finality of the December 1976 decision. No effective date earlier than February 24, 2009 can be assigned as no new and material evidence was submitted within one year.
- Claimed conditions
- Right forearm crush injury (including hand and fingers)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 26, 2014
- Citation
- 1443208
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 1443208.
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.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
- 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.
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