The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his right knee scar and overall disability rating have been dismissed as they are attempts to establish freestanding claims, not appeals of final decisions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not appeal the final decisions that assigned the ratings and effective dates he is now seeking an earlier date for.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20001261
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee, shoulder, and knee scars disabilities, as well as a compensable disability rating for hypertension.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (r)(2) level due to his service-connected disabilities requiring a higher level of care.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and denied increased ratings for several service-connected disabilities, as the evidence did not support a finding of current disability or aggravation related to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right knee locking, but remanded evaluations greater than 10 percent for bilateral knee limitation of flexion, limitation of extension, and scars.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.