The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and increased ratings have been denied as there is no free-standing claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no authority to adjudicate a free-standing claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Raynaud’s syndrome, Peripheral Arterial Insufficiency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- May 20, 2019
- Citation
- A19000397
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,893 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000397.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to July 24, 2017, for the awards of service connection for bilateral lower and upper extremity frostbite, Raynaud’s syndrome, and PTSD. The appeal is based on a direct service connection theory.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis of the bilateral hands, Raynaud’s syndrome, anemia, a cervical strain and erectile dysfunction have been granted.,Service connection has not been established for any of these conditions on a direct basis. The Board found no medical evidence or opinion linking these disabilities to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Raynaud’s syndrome is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of his condition and whether it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder has been granted. Service connection is also established for fibromyalgia, a disability manifested by a loss of vision, bursitis of the left hip, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), cholecystitis status post cholecystectomy, Sjogren’s disease, and Raynaud’s syndrome.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.