The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to January 7, 2016 for cervical strain, left shoulder strain with degenerative changes, and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine as his service connection claims were not received within the required timeframe.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s intent to file a claim was received more than one year following his separation from active duty in August 2014, making an effective date prior to January 7, 2016, impossible under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical strain, left shoulder strain with degenerative changes, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19193698
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,762 · Granted: 24% (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 19193698.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating, compensable rating, and extension of temporary total evaluation for his lumbar spine disability have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing all claims in April 2022.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis and IVDS. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury during active duty and his continuous symptoms since then.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions were granted effective from July 1, 2020.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were dismissed due to a procedural defect in filing the claims on the correct form.
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