The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date prior to August 23, 2018, for the grant of service connection for intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis status post T8-T9 decompression with T7-T10 fusion for thoracic myelopathy and left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The effective date of an award based on an original claim shall be the day following separation from service if the claim is received within one year after separation from service; otherwise, the effective date for the grant of service connection will be the date of receipt of the claim or petition to reopen, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.
- Claimed conditions
- intervertebral disc syndrome with spinal stenosis status post T8-T9 decompression with T7-T10 fusion for thoracic myelopathy, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20006551
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 Veteran's depressive disorder alone rendered her unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, and she is entitled to a TDIU for accrued benefits purposes on and from December 19, 2015. Additionally, the Veteran meets the criteria for SMC based on statutory housebound criteria for accrued benefits purposes.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed as the Veteran did not express disagreement with any issue decided by the AOJ within the prior year.
- Granted
The Veteran's depressive disorder alone rendered her unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, and she is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate.
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