The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to February 4, 2012 for the grant of entitlement to service connection for an upper back condition has been denied. The Board found that no earlier effective date is warranted as the earliest date of receipt of a claim was February 4, 2012.
The deciding factor: The criteria for an effective date prior to February 4, 2012 have not been met due to the lack of any communication or action indicating an intent to apply for benefits until February 4, 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back condition, left scapulothoracic muscular strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- September 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18137493
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 18137493.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches, neck pain, and upper back conditions due to a duty to assist error. The Veteran contends that his current disabilities are related to an in-service injury during a softball game.
- Denied
The appeal was dismissed for tinnitus, and service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss, a low back condition, an upper back condition, right ankle, left ankle, right knee, left knee, and bilateral foot conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a sleep condition, left shoulder bursitis, left wrist CTS, right wrist CTS, upper back condition, lower back condition, and right shoulder bursitis as there was no evidence of current disability or nexus to military service.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeal for all service connection claims.
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