Citation Nr: 18144854 Decision Date: 10/25/18 Archive Date: 10/25/18 DOCKET NO. 16-21 979 DATE: October 25, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date earlier than September 17, 2008 for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. A claim for service connection for PTSD was received by VA on September 17, 2008. 2. There is insufficient evidence showing receipt of a formal or informal claim of service connection for PTSD prior to September 17, 2008. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for assignment of an effective date earlier than September 17, 2008, for the grant of service connection for PTSD have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1, 3.155, 3.156, 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1998 to November 1998, and from March 2003 to April 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio, which granted service connection for PTSD and assigned an effective dated of September 17, 2008. The Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Board hearing in June 2018. A transcript is of record. Additional evidence received after the statement of the case in April 2016, and before the case was certified to the Board in March 2017, is not relevant to the appeal. Hence, no waiver is needed. Evidence submitted by the Veteran in June 2018 following certification of the appeal was accompanied by a waiver of RO consideration, thus the Board may consider it in the first instance. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304. 1. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than September 17, 2008 for the grant of service connection for PTSD The Veteran seeks an effective date prior to September 17, 2008, for the grant of service connection for PTSD. For the reasons that follow, the Board is unable to grant an earlier effective date. Generally, the effective date of an award based on an original claim, a claim reopened after final adjudication, or a claim for increase, of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension, shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found, but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of application therefor. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. For VA compensation purposes, a “claim” is defined as “a formal or informal communication in writing requesting a determination of entitlement, or evidencing a belief in entitlement, to a benefit.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.1 (p). An informal claim is “[a]ny communication or action indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits.” It must “identify the benefit sought.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.155 (a). Thus, the essential elements for any claim, whether formal or informal, are “(1) an intent to apply for benefits, (2) an identification of the benefits sought, and (3) a communication in writing.” Brokowski v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 79 (2009). VA must look to all communications from a claimant that may be interpreted as an application or claim, both formal and informal, for benefits and is required to identify and act on informal claims for benefits. See Servello v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 196 (1992). Effective March 24, 2015, VA amended its regulations so that all claims, in order to be valid, must be submitted on a form prescribed by the Secretary. 38 C.F.R. § 20.201; 79 Fed. Reg. 57660, 57696 (Sept. 25, 2014) (eff. Mar. 24, 2015). As the claim at issue was submitted prior to the effective date of the amendment, the prior law and regulations governing claims will be applied in this case. Prior to its repeal on March 24, 2015, 38 C.F.R. § 3.157 (b)(1) provided that once a formal claim for compensation has been allowed, receipt of a VA examination or hospitalization report will be accepted as an informal claim for increased benefits. See Pacheco v. Gibson, 27 Vet. App. 21 (2014). The Veteran’s PTSD is service-connected effective September 17, 2008, the date VA received his application for compensation benefits. In September 2010 and June 2018 correspondence, the Veteran provided a timeline in which he described having submitted an online VA claim and/or mailed in claim forms prior to September 2008. The Veteran also testified at his June 2018 hearing that he applied for benefits the first time around August or September 2004; and applied for service connection a second time through an online portal around April or May 2005. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s assertions that he recalls having submitted applications for benefits at least twice prior to September 2008, however, his statements are insufficient to warrant an earlier effective date. Upon review of the record, the Board can find no written statements or correspondence prior to September 2008, that could be interpreted as either a formal or informal claim for VA compensation benefits. The Veteran’s formal claim for compensation (VA Form 21-526, Application for Compensation and/or Pension) received September 17, 2008, does not identify a prior claim for compensation submitted to the VA. On the application, and in response to the question “Have you ever filed a claim with VA?” the Veteran marked the box corresponding to “No.” Consistent with the date on the formal application, the Board notes that the Veteran’s supporting documentation (i.e. VA Form 21-4142 (Authorization for Release of Information), VA 21-22 (Appointment of Veterans Service Organization as Claimant Representative) are all signed and dated September 10, 2008. The Veteran’s written statement that accompanied his formal claim application does not contain any reference to an earlier claim application. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran may well have experienced psychiatric symptoms and PTSD -related difficulties prior to September 17, 2008. While the Board is sympathetic to the symptoms that the Veteran experienced prior to 2008, the evidentiary record fails to substantiate that VA received a formal or informal claim prior to September 17, 2008. As the preponderance of the evidence is against an effective date prior to September 17, 2008 for the grant of service connection for PTSD; there is no doubt to be resolved. Accordingly, an earlier effective date may not be assigned. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Lauritzen, Associate Counsel