The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for various conditions and DEA benefits, as no formal or informal claim was filed prior to January 18, 2023.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran had filed a formal or informal claim for any of the conditions on appeal prior to January 18, 2023, and thus an earlier effective date is not warranted under applicable regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Radiculopathy, left upper extremity, Intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) of the cervical spine, Radiculopathy, right upper extremity, Left ankle tendinopathy, Left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, Right hip trochanteric pain syndrome with limitation of adduction of the thigh, Right ankle tendinopathy, Left hip trochanteric pain syndrome, Right hip trochanteric pain syndrome with limitation of flexion of the thigh, Left hip trochanteric pain syndrome with limitation of internal rotation, Right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with other knee impairment
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25035366
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 A25035366.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of his low back, right knee, and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The VA examinations were inadequate as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding flare-ups and functional loss/impairment.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on the need of regular aid and attendance due to his psychiatric symptoms.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for right and left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, finding that the medical evidence did not support higher ratings based on instability or range of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations conducted in March 2020 and September 2020 are inadequate for rating purposes, as they did not adequately address the severity of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities during the entire rating period on appeal. The Board requests additional retrospective medical opinions to determine the functional loss due to flare-ups and whether the Veteran's pain on motion is equivalent to ankylosis.
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