The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection due to failures in fulfilling the duty to assist, which are not considered a basis for CUE.
The deciding factor: The RO failed to provide a VA examination prior to issuing its rating decisions, which is required when there is evidence of an event, injury or disease occurred in service and indication that the disability may be associated with the Veteran's service. This failure does not constitute clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome (back condition), chronic left ankle strain (ankle condition)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19167018
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,104 · Granted: 28% (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 19167018.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted as his PTSD is now considered service-connected.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a left leg disability is reopened, and the appeal is granted.
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