The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of essential hypertension is denied as the evidence does not show he had potential entitlement at the time of the liberalizing law, and his current effective date is one year prior to the date of his July 2024 Supplemental Claim.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have potential entitlement to an earlier effective date due to a liberalizing law as he was already in receipt of benefits within one year of the August 10, 2022 PACT ACT.
- Claimed conditions
- essential hypertension
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2026
- Citation
- A26029479
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 A26029479.
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 Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of May 15, 2013 for the Veteran's TDIU and DEA benefits claims based on continuous pursuit of his claim since May 15, 2013. The effective dates are fixed in accordance with the facts found.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his combined schedular ratings did not meet the threshold requirement for consideration of TDIU. The case was remanded multiple times and ultimately denied again.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's essential hypertension and pulmonary hypertension are aggravated by his service-connected cardiac arrhythmia.
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