The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (leukemia) because the earliest possible communication that could be construed as a claim was received by VA on August 31, 2015. The December 2006 rating decision is final and the award of service connection for leukemia is based upon the August 31, 2015 request to reopen the previously denied claim.
The deciding factor: The effective date for an award of disability compensation based on an original claim cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of a new claim or reopening of a previously denied claim.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia (leukemia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20048341
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 20048341.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for leukemia has been granted. The issues of bilateral hearing loss and an increased evaluation for persistent depressive disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (leukemia) due to lack of new and material evidence within one year of notification of the December 2006 rating decision, which is considered final.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (leukemia) is denied because the December 2006 rating decision was not appealed within one year and thus became final. The Board found no evidence to rebut the presumption of regularity regarding notification.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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