The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of July 25, 2012 for a 20% rating for left calf muscle injury is denied as there was no factual increase in severity within one year prior to the claim.
The deciding factor: There was no factually ascertainable increase in the severity of the Veteran's left leg condition during the one-year lookback period prior to receipt of his July 25, 2012 increased rating claim.
- Claimed conditions
- left calf muscle injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19124778.
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 determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the TDIU issue. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). However, referral to the Director, Compensation Service, for consideration of entitlement to a TDIU on an extraschedular basis is warranted.
- Denied
The Veteran's headaches are not service-connected as they did not have their onset in service and were not found to be related to his service.,The left calf muscle injury is not considered secondary to the service-connected right knee osteoarthritis.,Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease was also not found to be service-connected.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, lumbar muscle injury, right lower abdomen muscle injury, right thigh muscle injury, and left calf muscle injury are all rated based on their current severity. The Board has found that a higher rating is warranted for the period prior to May 14, 2015, but remanded for further development of his claims due to lack of recent VA examinations and outstanding treatment records.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder other than PTSD was denied. However, his left calf muscle injury has been granted with a 10% rating.
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