The Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disorder, instability of the left and right knees, and patellofemoral syndrome of the left and right knees were denied in a May 2014 rating decision. The effective date for these grants is April 21, 2015.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for major depressive disorder was granted in a May 2014 rating decision with an initial rating of 30 percent and effective from September 9, 2013. The effective date for the increased rating to 50 percent is March 20, 2017.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates were denied as they are not valid under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The appeals for earlier effective dates were dismissed because the Veteran did not file a notice of disagreement or new and material evidence within one year of the May 2014 rating decisions, which made these decisions final.,The appeal for an increased rating was denied as the Veteran failed to perfect his appeal by filing a VA Form 9 within 60 days of the issuance of the June 2017 statement of the case. The effective date for the 50 percent rating is March 20, 2017.,The earlier effective date claim was dismissed as it violated the prohibition against freestanding earlier effective date claims found in Rudd v. Nicholson.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder, Instability of left knee, Patellofemoral syndrome of left knee, Instability of right knee, Patellofemoral syndrome of right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19159614
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19159614.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to duty to assist errors prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran is not prejudiced as a remand is necessary to correct these errors.
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