The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of rhinosinusitis is denied as the grant was based on a reopened claim after a final disallowance, and the earliest possible effective date is July 19, 2011.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the effective date for the award of service connection must be either the date of receipt of the new claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. As the Veteran did not have a pending unadjudicated claim prior to July 19, 2011, and his claim was based on reopening after final disallowance, the earliest possible effective date is July 19, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- rhinosinusitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19195682
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 19195682.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of January 19, 2016, for the award of service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, cluster headaches, back muscle pain, rhinosinusitis, and right knee painful joint.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a sinus condition, diagnosed as rhinosinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis, resolving doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for service connection of rhinosinusitis due to exposure to fine particulate matter, including burn pits, during the Gulf War is granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of June 19, 2022 for SMC and SMC (p) based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The Veteran is also entitled to a higher rate of SMC benefits at the P-2 level due to additional independent service-connected disabilities.
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