The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of left and right upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, as well as for special monthly compensation based on housebound status. The decision found that no earlier effective date was warranted due to lack of formal claims or sufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran did not meet the legal requirements for an earlier effective date and that his service connection claims were not supported by formal claims filed within one year of the intent to file a claim. The decision also noted that no new evidence was presented to support an earlier effective date for special monthly compensation based on housebound status.
- Claimed conditions
- left upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity diabetic peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- A20016198
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 A20016198.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and related conditions, including diabetic nephropathy, bilateral upper extremity neuropathies, and lower extremity neuropathies is granted effective August 10, 2022.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for hypertension. The claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, urinary issue, right hip arthritis, diabetes mellitus, and various types of neuropathy were denied. A TDIU was granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher level of SMC was denied as he does not meet the criteria for SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(r)(1) due to lack of blindness or deafness resulting from service-connected disability, and his current disabilities do not warrant an increase in SMC.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted with effective dates of June 29, 2015. The Veteran is rated at 100% for his coronary artery disease and TERA participation.
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