Citation Nr: 18139718 Decision Date: 10/01/18 Archive Date: 09/28/18 DOCKET NO. 16-19 470A DATE: October 1, 2018 ORDER An effective date of January 18, 2013, for the Veteran’s 70 percent rating for PTSD is granted, subject to controlling regulations governing the payment of monetary benefits. FINDING OF FACT It is factually ascertainable that the Veteran met the criteria for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD on October 15, 2012. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date of October 15, 2012, for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.400, 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1983 to September 1993. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Effective Date for 70 Percent PTSD Rating In the notice of disagreement (NOD), received in December 2014, the Veteran’s attorney argues the correct effective date for the grant of 70 percent for PTSD, is in November 2012, based on VA medical records showing a factually ascertainable increase in severity. The effective date of an increased rating is either the date of claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(1). The exception to the rule allows for the earliest date as of which it was factually ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred if the claim was received within 1 year from such date; otherwise, the effective date is the date of receipt of the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(2). The Court and VA General Counsel have interpreted the laws and regulations pertaining to the effective date for an increase as follows: If the increase occurred within one year prior to the claim, the increase is effective as of the date the increase was "factually ascertainable." If the increase occurred more than one year prior to the claim, the award is effective the date of claim. If the increase occurred after the date of claim, the effective date is the date of increase. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(2); Harper v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 125 (1997); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(o)(1),(2); VAOPGCPREC 12-98 (1998). The basic facts in this case are not in dispute. On October 15, 2013 the Veteran filed a claim for an increased rating for PTSD, which was granted by the RO in an October 2014 rating decision. The RO granted a 70 percent rating, effective the date of the claim, October 15, 2013. The Veteran filed a timely notice of disagreement, and in an April 2016 rating decision the RO granted an earlier effective of March 28, 2013, based on VA examination. The record does not show any pending, unadjudicated formal or informal claims for increase prior to October 15, 2013. Thus, the earliest effective date assignable in this case would be one year prior to the Veteran's October 15, 2013 claim. The question then becomes whether an increase in the disability at issue was factually ascertainable during that period. The Veteran’s service-connected PTSD is evaluated under 38 C.F.R. § 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411. That code uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, which provides for a 70 percent rating is warranted when there is occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a work-like setting); and inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. Id. A 100 percent rating is warranted for a mental disorder when there is total occupational and social impairment due to such symptoms as gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; and memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation or own name. Id. Upon review of the record and resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, Board finds that an increase in his PTSD, to 70 percent disabling, was factually ascertainable as of October 15, 2012. The evidence of record dated one year prior to the date of his October 15, 2013 claim for an increase indicates that his PTSD had worsened. VA treatment records from October 2012 showed that he had increased irritability, nightmares, obsessional rituals including checking behaviors, anxiety, suspiciousness, sleep impairment, difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships, difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances and impaired impulse control such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence. The Veteran reported that he been admitted to a psychiatric unit due to increased irritability and feelings of being out of control, which the examiner found related to PTSD. With consideration of all of the evidence, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that a disability rating of 70 percent is warranted for the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD effective, October 15, 2012. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A.D. Jackson, Counsel