The Veteran's claim for service connection for depressive disorder is denied as the effective date cannot be earlier than August 7, 2017.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his bilateral ankle disabilities are remanded as there was no formal or informal claim received prior to August 7, 2017.,The Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right knee is granted and the issue is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted.
The deciding factor: The effective date for service connection cannot be earlier than August 7, 2017 as there was no formal or informal claim received prior to this date.,There were no claims for increased ratings for the bilateral ankle disabilities filed before August 7, 2017. The Veteran's claim is remanded due to lack of a previous claim.,The secondary service connection claim for degenerative arthritis of the right knee is granted and requires further review as there was no prior claim for this issue.,The tinnitus claim is granted based on its onset in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder, Bilateral Ankle Disability (Right and Left), Degenerative Arthritis of the Right Knee, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20050836
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 20050836.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed as the claim was granted and effective from February 22, 2023.
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