Citation Nr: 18143372 Decision Date: 10/19/18 Archive Date: 10/18/18 DOCKET NO. 16-15 646 DATE: October 19, 2018 ORDER An effective date earlier than August 14, 2013 for the grant of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand, is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s did not appeal or submit new and material evidence within the one-year appeal period following the original denial of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand on March 25, 1974; thus, the decision was final. 2. On August 14, 2013, the VA received the Veteran’s claim to reopen the prior final disallowance of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand. 3. On December 11, 2014, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) granted the Veteran’s claim to reopen and awarded service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand, effective August 14, 2013. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date earlier than August 14, 2013, for the grant of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156, 3.400(q), (r). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the United States Air Force from June 1970 to March 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Board notes the Veteran’s contention that the effective date assigned for the award of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand was CUE. See NOD (Dec. 11, 2014). However, a CUE claim “cannot lie as to a decision that is still open to direct review.” May v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 310, 317 (2005). A collateral attack or CUE motion made prior to a determination becoming final bypasses the avenue of direct appeal and results in the veteran being “handicapped by the heightened burdens of proof and pleading that are characteristic of a collateral CUE attack.” Id. Therefore, a CUE claim cannot be filed as to a matter that is still appealable or pending. Id. at 320. In this case, the effective date assigned for the grant of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand is still pending review and not final. Accordingly, it is not subject to a CUE claim and will not be addressed herein. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than August 14, 2013 for the grant of service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand is denied. VA regulations state that, except as otherwise provided, the effective date of an award of compensation based on a claim to reopen after final disallowance will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400; see also 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(q)(2) (providing the same for awards of compensation based on new and material evidence received after final disallowance); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(r) (providing the same for awards of compensation based on reopened claims). In this case, a rating decision dated March 25, 1974, denied entitlement to service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand. Notification of the decision was sent to the Veteran and he did not appeal or submit new and material evidence within the one-year appeal period. Therefore, the rating decision became final. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. On August 14, 2013, the VA received the Veteran’s claim to reopen the prior final decision that denied entitlement to service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand. The AOJ initially denied the claim to reopen on May 30, 2014, but after reconsideration, the AOJ granted the Veteran’s claim to reopen and awarded service connection for synovitis of the left wrist and hand, effective August 14, 2013—the date of receipt of the claim. Rating Decision (Dec. 11, 2014). Based on these facts, the AOJ correctly found that the effective date for the award service connection is August 14, 2013. As the effective date for a reopened claim after a final disallowance shall be the date of receipt of the new claim or date entitlement arose, whichever is later, 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(q)(1)(ii), the claim for an effective date earlier than August 14, 2013 for the grant of service connection for left wrist/hand disability is denied. C.A. SKOW Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Kutrolli, Associate Counsel