The appeal for an earlier effective date was denied as a matter of law, with the effective date set to January 26, 2021.
The deciding factor: The claimant's right knee disability was granted based on secondary service connection, and the earliest effective date is the date VA received the Intent to File followed by the Supplemental Claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, Right knee strain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 6, 2025
- Citation
- A25050252
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding claims for depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, and lumbar spine strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, facial numbness (Bell's palsy), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and right knee strain. The claims for a left knee strain, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, cervical neck strain, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral foot disability were remanded.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, and left ankle strain but denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the service-connected injury to flexors (Group VII) of fingers/thumb, an initial compensable rating for recurrent bronchitis, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
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