The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date of special monthly pension based on the need for aid and attendance is denied as there was no formal claim prior to February 20, 2018. The earliest effective date granted by VA was June 12, 2017.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date than June 12, 2017 is denied as there was no formal claim prior to February 20, 2018 and the earliest effective date granted by VA was June 12, 2017.
- Claimed conditions
- Blindness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19112620
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19112620.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the Veteran's blindness, finding that it was a reasonably foreseeable complication of his VA heart surgery. The claim for service connection for peripheral artery disease was remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of December 9, 2019 for the award of special monthly death pension benefits based on the need for regular aid and attendance for the surviving spouse. The decision is based on the appellant's intent to file a claim for survivor benefits at that time.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for blindness due to optic neuritis of the right eye, finding that VA did not cause the disability and that there was no evidence of fault on VA's part.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's left eye condition, which includes optic atrophy, chorioretinal laser scars, and blindness, has resulted in visual acuity of 5/200 or worse. The Board found that the current rating of 30 percent is appropriate given her symptoms.
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