The Board denied the appellant's claims for an earlier effective date for DIC benefits and entitlement to accrued benefits, finding that there was no evidence of a formal or informal claim within one year following the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The appellant did not file a formal or informal claim for DIC and accrued benefits within the required one-year period after the Veteran’s death. The Board found that her phone call to VA in June 2013, while potentially indicative of an intent to apply for benefits, was not considered an informal claim due to lack of written documentation.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson's disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065552
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for Parkinson's disease, which is presumed to have been incurred in active service due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of August 25, 2016 for the award of service connection for Parkinson's disease.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for Parkinson's disease as the evidence did not support a finding that it began during or is otherwise related to active service.
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