The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for PTSD and the effective date of his award is dismissed. The Veteran was granted an initial disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD as of December 19, 2024.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not continuously pursue his claim for service connection prior to the effective date of December 19, 2024.
- Claimed conditions
- spondylosis of the lumbar spine, chronic bronchitis (claimed as shortness of breath)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- April 30, 2026
- Citation
- A26040668
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 A26040668.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sciatic radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, effective April 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to obtain opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left ankle ganglion cyst, spondylosis of the lumbar spine, knee strain, and acromioclavicular joint arthritis are caused or aggravated by his service-connected chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome.
- Dismissed
The VA proposed reducing the appellant's disability rating for spondylosis of the lumbar spine from 40 percent to noncompensably disabling, but this proposal was not finalized and thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to incomplete development related to the Veteran's lumbar spine surgery and increased rating claims. The AOJ is instructed to obtain missing medical records from the Campbell Clinic, validate the VA Form 21-4142, and then readjudicate both issues.
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