The Veteran's effective date for service connection of hypertension was denied prior to May 19, 2014. The Board found that the denial is not earlier than receipt of claim and thus denied an effective date prior to May 19, 2014.,Service connection for degenerative changes of the left knee with limitation of motion was severed on October 21, 2014 due to clear and unmistakable error. The Board found that the severance was proper as there was no demonstration of arthritis after total knee replacement.
The deciding factor: The effective date for service connection cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Degenerative changes of the left knee with limitation of motion, Sleep apnea, Acquired psychiatric disorder (depressive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19180030
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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