The Veteran's claim for service connection of degenerative arthritis of the left knee was initially filed on February 18, 2011. The effective date is set at April 26, 2016, as this is when the VA awarded service connection based on a new Intent to File submitted by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The previous rating decisions were not final due to continuous submissions of claims to reopen prior to the expiration of the appeal period. The effective date was set at the original filing date of February 18, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 7, 2020
- Citation
- A20015271
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's knee and cervical spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right and left knees, but remanded the issue of a low back disability for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and clarification regarding the severity of the Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities, specifically to determine if the Veteran has experienced 'the functional equivalent of range of motion loss contemplated by the next higher rating' at any point during the appeal period.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left and right knees was dismissed as it was not timely filed.
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