The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for service connection of a left knee disability, which was granted in June 2013. The Board denied this request.,Service connection is granted for tinnitus, with the presumption that it is related to active military service.,Service connection is remanded for COPD, as there is insufficient evidence regarding its relationship to service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The effective date of a grant of service connection cannot be earlier than the date entitlement arose, which in this case was June 19, 2013.,Service connection for tinnitus can be granted based on continuity of symptoms since service without requiring direct evidence of an in-service injury or disease.,For COPD, there is insufficient medical evidence to establish a link between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee disability, tinnitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19189782
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19189782.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
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