The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent from May 9, 2012 and continuing thereafter for bilateral tinnitus is dismissed. The claims of service connection for left knee disorder, right knee disorder, and cervical spine disorder (secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disorder) are granted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal concerning the initial rating higher than 10 percent from May 9, 2012 and continuing thereafter for bilateral tinnitus. The claims of left knee disorder, right knee disorder, and cervical spine disorder (secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disorder) were reopened due to new evidence submitted since previous denial decisions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus, Left knee disorder, Right knee disorder, Cervical spine disorder (secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disorder)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19187552
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 19187552.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and other disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation since December 29, 2020. Effective from that date, the Veteran is granted TDIU and SMC housebound.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and TDIU due to duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran's right knee disorder is being remanded for an addendum opinion regarding its etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an error in notifying the Veteran of his right to a hearing, and not because of any issues with service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a right knee disorder and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient evidence in the record.
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