The Board dismissed the appeal because a timely substantive appeal was not submitted or received regarding the October 2016 rating decision and the August 2017 SOC, which denied service connection for sciatic nerve damage/pain due to the lower back.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal within the required time frame as per VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- sciatic nerve damage/pain, left leg disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2020
- Citation
- A20017950
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The claims for service connection for a left leg disability and low back disability have been withdrawn by the Appellant.
- Dismissed
The appeal concerning the issues of service connection for back conditions, left leg disability, right leg disability, and seizures is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a procedural error in failing to provide the Veteran with notice of her right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for right hand strain status-post fracture of the third metacarpal and denied service connection for various other conditions including a right ankle condition, foot disability (torn Achilles tendon), acquired psychiatric disability, ear condition, head injury, left leg disability, and low back disability.
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