The Veteran's claim for service connection for anxiety disorder was received on December 27, 1983. The effective date of the grant of service connection is set at December 27, 1983.,The Veteran's original claim for service connection for a head tumor with secondary disabilities (scalp scar, seizures, and constipation) was received on March 17, 2010. The effective date for the grant of service connection is set at March 17, 2010.,The Veteran's claims for scalp scar, seizures, and constipation are secondary to his head tumor. These conditions were not separately claimed prior to March 17, 2010.,No effective date earlier than March 17, 2010 is granted for the service connection of these secondary disabilities as they are related to the primary disability (head tumor).,The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was remanded.
The deciding factor: Effective dates for service connection claims are determined by when the claim is received, not when entitlement arises. The earliest date of receipt of the claim (December 27, 1983) is used as the effective date.,For secondary conditions, the effective date is based on when the primary condition was first granted and not when the secondary condition arose or was claimed. Since the head tumor was granted in March 2010, the secondary disabilities are also assigned an effective date of March 17, 2010.,The Veteran's claims for scalp scar, seizures, and constipation were not separately filed prior to March 17, 2010. As they are related to the head tumor, their effective dates cannot precede that date.,For the secondary disabilities, since the primary condition (head tumor) was granted in March 2010, these conditions also have an effective date of March 17, 2010.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder, head tumor, scalp scar, seizures, constipation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 8, 2018
- Citation
- 18109568
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 18109568.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for syncopal episodes, finding that these episodes are secondary to her service-connected migraine headaches.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the VA audiological examination inadequate for adjudicative purposes and remanded for an adequate VA audiological examination to determine if the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss. Service connection for PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression is also remanded as there are insufficient competent medical evidence on file.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, specifically anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, which is found to be due to military sexual trauma experienced during service. The decision also notes that the Veteran's reports of in-service personal assault are credible and supported by medical opinions.
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