The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective date and increased rating for insomnia was denied. The Board found no evidence of an informal claim prior to September 25, 2019, the date VA received his intent to file a claim.
The deciding factor: There were no informal or formal claims of entitlement to service connection for insomnia prior to September 25, 2019.
- Claimed conditions
- Insomnia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 7, 2020
- Citation
- A20018059
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for insomnia, fatigue, gallstones, varicose veins, anemia, colitis, and PTSD due to a lack of evidence supporting the claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) but denied service connection for PTSD and a higher rating for the unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder/major depressive disorder/insomnia.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a separate 50 percent initial rating for insomnia as secondary to tinnitus, and denied an increased rating for tinnitus. The Board also granted service connection for headache disability, low back disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, cervical spine disability, and right upper extremity radiculopathy.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for insomnia, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and polycythemia vera were dismissed due to procedural issues. The remaining claims are remanded for further development.
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