The Board denied the Appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, stating that since the claim was received within a year of the Veteran's death and no legal basis exists to assign an earlier effective date, the appeal must be denied.
The deciding factor: The law provides that the effective date for a grant of service connection for the cause of a veteran's death is the date of receipt of the DIC claim. Since the Appellant's claim was received in November 2015 and not within one year of the Veteran's death, an earlier effective date cannot be assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 30, 2021
- Citation
- 21071607
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 21071607.
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.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the Appellant did not specify which specific decision or issue she disagreed with, specifically regarding her claim for service connection related to Camp Lejeune exposure.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has already granted service connection for the cause of death in a previous decision, and no new issues are pending. The current appeal is dismissed.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death is dismissed due to concurrent election.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of July 1, 2014 for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) based on the appellant's claim received within one year following the Veteran's death.
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