The Veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, internal derangement of the left knee, and internal derangement of the right knee were denied in a February 2003 rating decision. The effective date assigned was September 30, 2009.,The Veteran filed an informal claim to reopen his service connection claims for back and left knee conditions on September 30, 2009. He argued that he should have been granted service connection earlier in November 2005 when he called the Hawaii ROJ.,The Board found that there was no evidence of a prior claim filed before September 30, 2009 and denied the Veteran's request for an effective date earlier than September 30, 2009.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a prior claim filed by the Veteran before September 30, 2009.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Internal derangement of the left knee, Internal derangement of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2014
- Citation
- 1410231
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 1410231.
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 remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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