The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 13, 2006, for service connection of low back strain was denied. The Board also remanded several issues related to his knee and ankle disabilities.
The deciding factor: No earlier claim for a low back disability was received by VA before September 13, 2006.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain, left knee degenerative joint disease (limitation of flexion), right knee degenerative joint disease, left ankle strain, surgical scar, status post left knee arthroscopy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104543
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, increased ratings, and earlier effective dates as there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between his current conditions and his active military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 20 percent for left and right ankle strains, denied a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, and remanded claims for hypertension and gout.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to follow and secure substantially gainful employment, thus a total disability rating for individual unemployability is granted.
- Partly granted
The Board denied earlier effective dates for the award of service connection and denied increased ratings for various disabilities, but granted a separate rating for left upper extremity radiculopathy from October 20, 2020.
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