The Board granted an effective date of January 25, 2019, for the award of service connection for atrial septal defect.
The deciding factor: The claim was continuously pursued within one year of the initial denial, allowing for the earliest possible effective date under the law.
- Claimed conditions
- atrial septal defect
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 10, 2025
- Citation
- A25097701
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 47% (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 A25097701.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for both atrial septal defect and bilateral deuteranopia, finding that these conditions are congenital defects not aggravated by military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and duty-to-assist error, as well as the need for a TERA opinion. The Veteran's atrial septal defect is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for migraines has been denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for atrial septal defect was denied in November 1980, and the effective date of this decision is not eligible for adjustment as it has already become final. The Veteran filed to reopen his claim on November 25, 2013, which resulted in a grant of service connection for atrial septal defect based on evidence from a VA examination conducted in March 2016.
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