The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for right knee disability, finding that the June 11, 2002, filing was the earliest valid claim to reopen a previously denied claim in April 1971.
The deciding factor: The effective date cannot be earlier than the date of the claim to reopen (June 11, 2002), as the prior denial was final and no new material evidence was received within one year of that decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Internal Derangement, Right Knee Chondromalacia, Right Knee Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2017
- Citation
- 1755893
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 1755893.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating prior to August 12, 2013 was denied as his right knee disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5003.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating from April 1, 2016 was denied as he is already receiving the maximum allowable disability rating of 60 percent for total right knee replacement.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee instability rating is restored to 20 percent effective November 1, 2019. The initial disability rating for right knee instability remains denied and the increased disability rating for right knee chondromalacia is granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The rating for PTSD was not granted, and the claims for left foot neuropathy, right foot neuropathy, left knee arthroplasty and rheumatoid arthritis, and right knee arthritis were also denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee conditions have been denied. The current evaluations for the right knee under DC 5260 are 10 percent, while those for the left knee under DCs 5260 and 5261 are noncompensable.
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