The Board denied attorney fees for past-due benefits awarded in a November 2016 decision granting Total Disability Rating based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) effective July 6, 2005. The Veteran and his attorney entered into four fee agreements but none covered the TDIU issue or the cervical spine disability issues.
The deciding factor: There was no valid fee agreement under which the attorney could be granted fees for the November 2016 grant of TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- neurological disability, orthopedic manifestations of a cervical spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185862
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a cervical spine disability, CFS, muscle pain, and neurological disabilities as there was no evidence of current diagnoses at the time of filing or during the pendency of the claims.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a neurological disability, excluding fibromyalgia, based on the Veteran's active military service during the Persian Gulf War.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claim for service connection of a left arm disability, other than LUE peripheral neuropathy. The Veteran's appeal regarding respiratory disorder, fibromyalgia, and neurological disability will be addressed later.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran does not have a current neurological disability. The gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disabilities are remanded for further examination to determine their etiology.
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