The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for chronic pancreatitis secondary to Depakote prescribed for a nonservice connected psychiatric disorder was denied as the effective date cannot be earlier than December 19, 1997.
The deciding factor: The effective date of an award based on VA medical treatment pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1151 is fixed in accordance with the facts found but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of application therefor.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Pancreatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19129515
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (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 19129515.
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).
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The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a disability rating for generalized anxiety disorder and service connection for pancreatitis due to insufficient development of the record.
- Whole decision: Denied
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