The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and SMC awards were denied as the issues remained unadjudicated at the time of the January 1989 RO denial.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the matter had not been adjudicated, and therefore no earlier effective date was warranted.
- Claimed conditions
- C-5 quadriplegia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2015
- Citation
- 1542422
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 1542422.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the cases due to procedural issues, including determining whether the Veteran timely filed a notice of disagreement regarding the effective date assigned for service connection and SMC awards. The AOJ must consider if any relevant rating decision became final before or after April 2000.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board found that the Veteran's motor vehicle accident in service was not due to willful misconduct and granted service connection for his C-5 quadriplegia.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The case is being remanded for further development to obtain weather conditions at the time of the Veteran's motor vehicle accident.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's C-5 quadriplegia was incurred in service, as it resulted from a surgical procedure performed during his active duty. The decision is based on the opinion of several medical experts who concluded that the surgery caused the quadriplegia.
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