The Board denied the Veteran's request for an effective date before January 16, 2015 for the award of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 because the earliest nonfinal claim was her formal claim on January 16, 2015.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's federal tort claim did not constitute a claim for veterans' disability benefits and thus could not be combined with her section 1151 claim. The effective date is determined by when VA receives the formal claim, which was January 16, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- rectal cancer, adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious mood, colostomy with J-pouch, bilateral upper and lower extremity neuropathy, metastatic colon cancer to the liver, complex incisional hernia, abdominal wall reconstruction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 17, 2022
- Citation
- 22028969
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 22028969.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's rectal cancer is related to his active duty service and exposure to Agent Orange. The Board granted service connection for the condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rectal cancer and the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service or a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for colorectal cancer, finding that the evidence did not establish a chronic condition in service or a relationship to service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's rectal cancer is related to his presumed in-service exposure to herbicides, specifically Agent Orange. The decision grants service connection for this condition.
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