Citation Nr: 18142107 Decision Date: 10/12/18 Archive Date: 10/12/18 DOCKET NO. 16-20 606 DATE: October 12, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to an earlier effective date of July 19, 2010, but no earlier, for the award of service connection for erectile dysfunction is granted. Entitlement to an earlier effective date of July 19, 2010, but no earlier, for the award of special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ is granted. FINDING OF FACT On July 19, 2010, VA received the Veteran’s initial claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction, which encompasses a claim for the related benefit of entitlement to special monthly compensation for loss of use of a creative organ. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for an earlier effective date of July 19, 2010 for the award of service connection for erectile dysfunction are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. 2. The criteria for an earlier effective date of July 19, 2010 for the award of special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from March 1995 to February 1998. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Effective Date 1. Entitlement to an effective date prior to October 18, 2010 for the award of service connection for erectile dysfunction. 2. Entitlement to an effective date prior to October 18, 2010 for the award of special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ. The Veteran seeks an effective date prior to October 18, 2010 for the award of service connection for erectile dysfunction and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ. He asserts that the effective date should correspond with the date he first started receiving treatment for the condition, on September 27, 2005, or July 19, 2010, the date VA reported receiving his claim for erectile dysfunction. See August 2012 Notice of Disagreement; May 2016 Correspondence; see also May 2016 VA Form 9. Generally, the effective date of an evaluation and award of compensation based on an original claim, a claim reopened after final disallowance, or a claim for increase will be the date of receipt of the claim, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. The effective date of an original award of direct service connection is the day following separation from active service or date entitlement arose if the claim is received within one year after separation from service; otherwise, it is the date of receipt of claim, or date entitlement arose, whichever is later. Id. Moreover, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has determined that the effective date of an award of service connection is not based upon the date of the earliest medical evidence demonstrating entitlement, but on the date that the application upon which service connection was ultimately awarded was filed with VA. See Lalonde v. West, 12 Vet. App. 377, 380 (1999). (“[T]he effective date of an award of service connection is not based on the date of the earliest medical evidence demonstrating a causal connection, but on the date that the application upon which service connection was eventually awarded was filed with VA.”) Prior to March 24, 2015, any communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits under laws administered by VA, from a veteran or his representative, may be considered an informal claim. Such informal claim must identify the benefit sought. Upon receipt of an informal claim, if a formal claim has not been filed, an application form will be forwarded to the claimant for execution. If received within one year from the date it was sent to the veteran, it will be considered filed as of the date of receipt of the informal claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a) (as in effect prior to March 24, 2015). A review of the record reflects that the Veteran first filed a claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder that was received by the RO on July 19, 2010, although this document is not of record. Specifically, in September 2010, a Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) letter was issued to the Veteran, which informed him that the RO was working on his claim for a psychiatric disorder and requested that he submit additional evidence to substantiate the claim, noting July 19, 2010 as the date of claim. See September 9, 2010 VCAA Letter. In response, the Veteran submitted correspondence detailing his psychiatric symptoms, which included erectile dysfunction. See October 18, 2010 Correspondence. Thereafter, another VCAA letter was issued to the Veteran, notifying him that it was an amendment to the September 2010 VCAA letter to include his claim for erectile dysfunction, and noted July 19, 2010 as the date of that claim. See March 21, 2011 VCAA Letter. A May 2012 rating decision awarded service connection for erectile dysfunction as secondary to depressive disorder, as well as special monthly compensation based on the loss of use of a creative organ, and assigned an effective date of October 18, 2010, noting this was the date his claim of entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction was received. Given that the Veteran’s July 19, 2010 statement is not of record and the fact that the RO conceded July 19, 2010 as the date of claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction in the March 2011 VCAA notice letter, the Board finds July 19, 2010 is the date of claim in this case. The Veteran does not assert, and the evidence does not otherwise reflect, that he filed a claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction prior to July 19, 2010. To the extent he sought treatment for erectile dysfunction prior to that date, such treatment records cannot constitute an original claim for service connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.157(b)(1) (as in effect prior to March 24, 2015) (a report of VA examination or hospitalization can be accepted as an informal claim to reopen a previously denied claim or for an increased rating). Thus, although symptoms of erectile dysfunction have been present prior to July 19, 2010, that cannot serve as a basis for award of an earlier effective date and the date of the filing of his claim controls. As such, July 19, 2010, and no earlier, is the appropriate effective date for the award of service connection for erectile dysfunction and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ, which is consistent with the date of receipt of the Veteran’s claim. S. BUSH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S.S. Mahoney, Associate Counsel