The Board denied attorney fees for past-due benefits as the fee agreement was not entered before a final decision on the issue, and no provision exists to grant such fees.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the attorney-fee agreement was entered after a final decision by the Board, thus violating regulations which require an attorney-fee agreement to be entered prior to a final decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Loss of right kidney
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 24, 2017
- Citation
- 1734877
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1734877.
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: Granted
The Veteran's DVT with anticoagulative disorder, renal artery disorder, and loss of right kidney are all granted as secondary to service-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's loss of the right kidney was a result of a perforation during a procedure to examine her left kidney, which was considered a foreseeable complication. The Board found that VA did not act negligently or carelessly in performing the procedure and thus granted benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: 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.
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