The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of June 11, 2019, for service connection of right knee disability is granted. The effective date was originally assigned based on the May 2020 VA Form 21-526EZ filing, but the Board found this to be incorrect and ruled that the ITF should have been used instead.
The deciding factor: The AOJ's error in using the May 2020 VA Form 21-526EZ as the effective date was not unreasonable because there was another claim filed between the ITF and the May 2020 VA Form 21-526EZ, which sought entitlement to temporary total disability for right knee surgery. The Board found that the initial claim for service connection should be related back to the date of the ITF.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26025291
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 A26025291.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, finding that his current diagnosis of right knee strain is related to his military service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been dismissed due to their death.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a right knee disability was dismissed as the request to file an appeal was not timely.
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