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Denied

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for PTSD and low back strain, as the earliest possible effective date based on his August 5, 2023, intent to file was already assigned.

The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran filed a claim within one year of separation, thus the earliest possible effective date is the date he filed his intent to file, which was August 5, 2023.

Claimed conditions
Low Back Strain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
July 1, 2025
Citation
A25056983

Veterans Law Judge

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 A25056983.

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

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