The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain, as the request was not timely filed.
The deciding factor: The claimant did not file a supplemental claim or request higher-level review within one year of the initial denial and did not submit a timely extension request due to COVID-19.
- Claimed conditions
- somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25019530
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,549 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25019530.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating and TDIU due to his service-connected somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain, to include alcohol use disorder, is granted. The effective date remains May 23, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for the service-connected tenia pedis and onychomycosis bilateral feet, denied earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, and remanded several claims for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial evaluation in excess of 70 percent for somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not more closely approximate total occupational and social impairment.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities, including major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, are rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective November 18, 2019. The Board also granted entitlement to TDIU based on these conditions but denied the claim for TDIU due solely to service-connected acquired psychiatric disabilities.
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