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Whole decision: Denied

The Board denied an effective date prior to April 28, 2016 for the award of DIC benefits due to lack of a timely filed application and because the March 2014 rating decision became final.

The deciding factor: The appellant did not file a VA Form 9 within the appeal period or provide new and material evidence after receiving the November 2015 SOC, which was presumed to have been properly mailed.

Claimed conditions
Not specified in this decision
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
May 19, 2020
Citation
20034732

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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20034732.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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