The Board denied the Veteran's request for an effective date prior to May 7, 2021 for the grant of service connection for loss of use of the bilateral lower extremities. The award was granted based on a VA examination conducted in July 2020 and signed in August 2020, which showed that the Veteran had lost the ability to bear weight on his legs and was wheelchair bound due to service-connected Parkinson's disease.
The deciding factor: The effective date for an award of service connection is fixed based on the facts found but not earlier than the date the claim was received. In this case, the claim was received after May 7, 2021, which is when the Veteran was granted service connection and SMC.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of use of bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2021
- Citation
- A21017867
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 A21017867.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's need for supervision, protection, or instruction on a continuous basis due to his service-connected disabilities has been determined, granting him an increased Level 2 stipend under the PCAFC program.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied. Effective dates prior to July 27, 2023, are not warranted as the issues were not reasonably raised before that date.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a special home adaptation grant as they do not result in anatomical loss or use of both hands, blindness in both eyes, deep partial thickness burns, full thickness or subdermal burns, or residuals of an inhalation injury.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bladder incontinence but denied earlier effective dates and increased ratings for other conditions.
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