The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 18, 2007 for a 80% disability rating for service-connected narcolepsy was denied as there was no evidence to support the increase in disability prior to this date.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence did not support an 80% disability rating from July 21, 2001, and thus, the earliest effective date legally possible has been assigned under 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(o).
- Claimed conditions
- narcolepsy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017674
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's effective date for the award of an 80 percent rating for narcolepsy is granted from August 11, 2015.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for narcolepsy due to seemingly contradictory findings in a January 2024 VA examination report that cannot be resolved through consideration of other evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a neck condition, bilateral elbow condition, bilateral hip condition, bilateral ankle condition, and narcolepsy due to inadequate VA examinations and potential pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for narcolepsy, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
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