The Veteran's appeal to the September 2015 rating decision denying service connection for Multiple Sclerosis was not timely filed, and therefore the appeal is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal within the required time frame after receiving the October 2016 Statement of the Case (SOC).
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple Sclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20001924
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 service connection for multiple sclerosis, finding that it manifested to a degree of 10 percent or more within seven years of the Veteran's separation from service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for multiple sclerosis and remanded the claims for increased ratings due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and to obtain additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to obtain a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's death was due to multiple sclerosis, which may have been caused by in-service herbicide exposure.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.