The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for nephropathy is denied.
The deciding factor: The denial became final because the Veteran did not file a Notice of Disagreement with the January 2015 rating decision, and there was no reopened claim until July 27, 2016.
- Claimed conditions
- nephropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133669
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 19133669.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for nephropathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal seeking service connection for nephropathy during a Board hearing.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for nephropathy, as further medical evaluation is needed to determine if it is secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus and considering the Veteran's presumed exposure to herbicides during his service in Vietnam.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for nephropathy, and remanded several other claims including those for a vitamin deficiency, right inguinal hernia, and sarcoidosis due to insufficient evidence.
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