The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as they are not legally entitled to such based on the lack of timely filed NODs and the fact that no Notice of Disagreement was received within one year from the June 1997 rating decision.
The deciding factor: There is no legal entitlement to an earlier effective date due to the absence of a timely filed Notice of Disagreement in relation to the June 1997 rating decision, which precludes any effective date prior to March 21, 2011 for the service connection claims and March 21, 2010 for the increased rating claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, Right ankle degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2018
- Citation
- 1805834
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 1805834.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for increased initial evaluations of degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, left shoulder strain with degenerative arthritis, and right shoulder degenerative arthritis due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include a mood disorder and alcohol abuse disorder, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The other claims for increased ratings were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for higher staged ratings and initial ratings in excess of 10 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, right lower extremity, and residual painful surgical scar, posterior trunk respectively, to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) for the period from August 29, 2014, to June 16, 2019.
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