The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for swallowing difficulty associated with a 1988 surgery is denied, and the rating for his painful tracheostomy scar is granted at 10 percent.
The deciding factor: There are no prior communications indicating an intent to file a claim of entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 prior to June 7, 2006, the date of receipt of the Veteran's formal claim for compensation.
- Claimed conditions
- difficulty swallowing, painful tracheostomy scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19112722
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · Granted: 21% (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 19112722.
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 a 30 percent disability rating for hypothyroidism and earlier effective dates for the award of service connection for difficulty swallowing and special monthly compensation, but dismissed the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a stroke, difficulty swallowing, vision disability, bilateral foot drop, memory loss, mental confusion, severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, and non-toxic thyroid enlargement as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for sleep apnea, onychomycosis, xerosis, and difficulty swallowing to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and remanded several issues related to interstitial lung disease, psychiatric disability, fatigue, vertigo, muscle disability, Raynaud's phenomenon, gastrointestinal disability, difficulty swallowing, headache, skin disability, blurred vision, upper respiratory symptoms, and vertigo as secondary conditions.
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