The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that the Appellant-widow did not file a claim prior to October 14, 2015, and thus the earliest effective date allowed is October 14, 2015.
The deciding factor: The Appellant-widow's informal claims were not construed as DIC benefit claims due to her lack of indication that the Veteran's death was related to service or a service-connected disability at the time she requested a month-of-death payment.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety disorder, Intervertebral disc syndrome (cervical spine), Intervertebral disc syndrome (lumbar spine), Hiatal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 20, 2022
- Citation
- 22053437
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 22053437.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia and dysphagia, finding that there was no documented history of esophageal stricture requiring daily medications to control dysphagia.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder. The evidence is at least in balance regarding whether his current conditions are related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder, lumbar strain with degenerative arthritis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy contributed to his death from congestive heart failure. The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria of having a combined rating of at least one year immediately preceding death.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for a psychiatric disability to include PTSD and an anxiety disorder, other than the service-connected insomnia disorder. The claims for recurrent right shoulder disability, recurrent left shoulder disability, and obstructive sleep apnea are remanded.
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