The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of scar, forehead secondary to his service-connected TBI. The earliest allowable effective date has already been assigned.
The deciding factor: The Federal Circuit has repeatedly rejected the argument that a disability service connected as secondary to an underlying service-connected disability should be entitled to the effective date of the underlying disability.
- Claimed conditions
- scar, forehead
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2026
- Citation
- A26027664
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A26027664.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for allergic rhinitis and denied service connection for a forehead scar. Other claims were remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
Service connection for tinnitus is granted. The claim for service connection for a scar on the forehead is remanded for further evaluation.
- Whole decision: Denied
The veteran's appeal was denied for increased ratings for his service-connected scar, forehead and head trauma with headaches.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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