The Veteran's original claim for service connection for a right knee condition was denied in June 1987, and the decision became final. The Veteran did not file a notice of disagreement or submit new and material evidence within one year. He requested to reopen his claim on September 3, 2008, which led to the grant of service connection for a right knee condition effective from that date. The Board denied an earlier effective date as it was the first date VA received written communication from the Veteran seeking to reopen his previously denied claim.
The deciding factor: The June 1987 rating decision denying the original claim became final, and no new evidence was submitted within one year. The September 3, 2008 request to reopen the claim led to the grant of service connection for a right knee condition effective from that date. An earlier effective date is not warranted as it would be the first date VA received written communication seeking to reopen the previously denied claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19182171
Veterans Law Judge
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 19182171.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability is service-connected as it resulted from an injury sustained during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee conditions due to insufficient medical opinions in the January 2024 rating decision. The AOJ is instructed to consider any new evidence submitted by the Veteran, including a supplemental claim for right knee condition.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of a right knee condition, resulting in the dismissal of this claim.
- Denied
The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a current disability for any of the claimed conditions, and thus service connection cannot be granted.
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