The Board dismissed the appeals for earlier effective dates related to various left and right hip, knee, shoulder, and other conditions as they were freestanding claims not continuously pursued from the initial rating decisions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not continuously pursue a claim for an earlier effective date from the initial rating decision granting service connection or increased ratings for his disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder degenerative arthritis, right shoulder degenerative arthritis, carotid stenosis (cardiac) and aortic atherosclerosis, erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes mellitus, limitation of abduction of the left hip, limitation of flexion of the left hip, limitation of extension of the left hip, limitation of flexion of the right hip, limitation of extension of the right hip, limitation of abduction and rotation of the right hip, left knee instability, left knee meniscal tear, limitation of flexion of the left knee, limitation of extension of the left knee, limitation of flexion of the right knee, right knee instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25108420
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 A25108420.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining clarification from the August 2017 VA examiner regarding which symptoms are related to his service-connected left trapezius strain and whether any non-service-connected conditions represent a progression of that disability.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee meniscal tear and denied his request for an increased rating for left knee laxity.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
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