The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection and a 50 percent rating for ulcerative colitis was denied as there is no legal basis to assign an effective date prior to October 21, 2015.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the award of service connection for ulcerative colitis must be based on the date of receipt of the claim, which in this case was October 21, 2015. The Veteran's contention that he did not know he could file a claim earlier is considered but does not change the legal authority governing effective dates.
- Claimed conditions
- ulcerative colitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1804964
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 1804964.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for ulcerative colitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximate moderately severe ulcerative colitis with frequent exacerbations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis to address whether it is secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, ulcerative colitis, lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted a request to readjudicate the claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded the issue for further development.
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