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Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

An effective date earlier than September 3, 2024, for the award of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is denied.

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069991Docket 250801-571370va.gov source

  • service connection for PTSDDenied
DecisionAnalysis

Board reasoning

The Board denied an earlier effective date for PTSD, holding that the claim was timely filed on September 3, 2024, and that earlier records, including a 2023 private evaluation, did not establish entitlement for an earlier date. It found no basis to reconsider the October 2015 denial under 3.156(c) because newly obtained records were not relevant to the dispositive issue, and discussed finality of the prior decision and the timing rules for effective dates. The Board also rejected arguments about grave procedural error and noted Sears v. Principi and related authorities to support the timing framework.

Issues

  • service connection for PTSDDenied

Authorities

  • Sears v. Principi, 349 F.3d 1326Cited for the general rule on effective dates for reopened claims and the timing framework.
  • Mayhue v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 273Cited regarding reconsideration under 3.156(c) and entitlement date mechanics.
  • Jones (Florence) v. Wilkie, 964 F.3d 1374Cited concerning reconsideration and treatment of claims under 3.156(c).
  • Kisor v. McDonough, 995 F.3d 1347Cited for definition of 'relevant' records in 3.156(c) reconsideration.
  • Flores-Vazquez v. McDonough, 996 F.3d 1321Cited on requirement that reconsideration need not be based solely on new records.

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.