The Veteran's claim for service connection for allergies was denied in March 1976 and not reopened until September 20, 2023. The Board found that the earliest effective date for service connection is September 20, 2023.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not file a valid supplemental claim within one year of the denial in March 1976 and was only able to pursue his allergy claim after filing a new VA Form 20-0995, which was received more than a year after the prior denial. The earliest possible effective date is therefore September 20, 2023.
- Claimed conditions
- Allergies
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2026
- Citation
- A26019708
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 A26019708.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors. The VA will obtain medical opinions regarding the relationship between the claimed conditions and service-connected bilateral hearing loss, as well as a TERA examination for frequent urination.
- Granted
The Board has granted an initial 10 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected allergies, finding that without daily medications, his allergic rhinitis would likely be manifested by greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for a new VA examination.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim of service connection for allergies is dismissed because he is already service-connected for allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis.
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