Citation Nr: 18147357 Decision Date: 11/05/18 Archive Date: 11/02/18 DOCKET NO. 16-38 238 DATE: November 5, 2018 ORDER An effective date earlier than March 6, 2000, for the grant of service connection for left ventricular dysfunction is denied. An effective date of March 6, 2000, but no earlier, for the claim of entitlement to special monthly compensation by reason of housebound status is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. No communication was received prior to March 6, 2000, that could be interpreted as an informal or formal claim for service connection for left ventricular dysfunction or a heart disability. 2. From March 6, 2000, the Veteran had a TDIU based on a single disability (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, status post dorsal laminectomy) as well as an additional service-connected disability (left ventricular dysfunction) which was independently ratable as 60 percent disabling and which was separate and distinct from his service-connected residuals of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, status post laminectomy, disability for which TDIU was warranted. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to an effective date prior to March 6, 2000, for the grant of service connection for left ventricular dysfunction are not met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.114, 3.400, 3.816. 2. The criteria for SMC at the housebound rate were met as of March 6, 2000. 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.350. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active duty service in the United States Army from December 1967 to August 1970, including service in the Republic of Vietnam. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of March and October 2014 rating decisions. 1. An effective date earlier than March 6, 2000, for the grant of service connection for left ventricular dysfunction The effective date of an evaluation and award of compensation on an original claim for compensation will be the day following separation from active duty service or the date entitlement arose if the claim is received within one year after separation from service. Otherwise, the effective date will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a)-(b)(1); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2). Except as otherwise provided, the effective date of an evaluation and award of a claim for increased disability rating will be the date of the receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. If a claim for increased disability rating is received within one year from the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred, then that date shall be the effective date; otherwise, it will be the date on which the claim was received. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(o)(2). A specific claim in the form prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must be filed in order for benefits to be paid to any individual under the laws administered by VA. 38 C.F.R. § 3.151. The term “claim” or “application” means a formal or informal communication in writing requesting a determination of entitlement or evidencing a belief of entitlement, to a benefit. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1(p). “Date of receipt” generally means the date on which a claim, information, or evidence was received by VA. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1(r). Any communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits under the laws administered by VA, from a claimant, his or her duly authorized representative, a Member of Congress, or some person acting as next friend of a claimant who is not sui juris may be considered an informal claim. Such an 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 after the date it was sent to the claimant, it will be considered filed as of the date of receipt of the informal claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a). An October 2000 rating decision granted service connection for left ventricular dysfunction, effective March 6, 2000, the date the RO received the Veteran’s claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) which raised a claim for a potential heart disability. The Veteran did not appeal this determination, and it became final. In a March 2014 rating decision, the RO reconsidered the effective date of the service connection award for left ventricular dysfunction pursuant to orders of a United States District Court (Court) in the class action of Nehmer v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs, based on the Veteran’s service in the Republic of Vietnam and presumed exposure to herbicide agents. In a March 2014 rating decision, the effective date of March 6, 2000, was confirmed and continued. The Veteran appealed for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for a left ventricular dysfunction. In Rudd v. Nicholson, the Court held that Appellants are prohibited from collaterally attacking a prior final decision by filing a freestanding earlier effective date claim. 20 Vet. App. 296 (2006). In this case, the October 2000 rating decision would be final as it was not appealed. However, given that that the RO on its own accord readjudicated the issue of an effective date in March 2014, the Board will proceed with an analysis of the claim. The Veteran served in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era, and thus, is considered a Vietnam veteran presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent. Although ischemic heart disease is subject to presumptive service connection for herbicide exposure, left ventricular dysfunction is a distinct diagnosis and is not a disease subject to presumptive service connection. Nehmer is not for application. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309. Here, the Veteran’s first and only claim of entitlement to service connection for a heart disability was received on March 6, 2000 (when the Veteran filed a claim for TDIU). As noted above, the effective date of the award in this case is the later of the date that the claim was received by VA or the date the disability arose. The RO has assigned the earliest effective date possible and that is March 6, 2000, the date of receipt of the claim. Accordingly, the Veteran’s claim for an effective date earlier than March 6, 2000, for the award of service connection for left ventricular dysfunction must be denied. 2. An effective date earlier than May 2, 2014, for the grant of special monthly compensation by reason of housebound status The Veteran has been awarded special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria from May 2, 2014, the date of receipt of the claim. He seeks an earlier effective date. Special monthly compensation at the housebound rate is payable when the Veteran has a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling and (1) has an additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60 percent, separate and distinct from the 100 percent service-connected disability and involving different anatomical segments or bodily systems; or (2) is permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities. Being permanently housebound by reason of service-connected disability or disabilities is established when the Veteran is substantially confined as a direct result of service-connected disabilities to his dwelling and the immediate premises; or, if institutionalized, to the ward or clinical areas and it is reasonably certain the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his lifetime. 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s); 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(i). TDIU based on a single disability satisfies the requirement of a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling for the purposes of special monthly compensation at the housebound rate under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s). See Buie v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 242 (2011); Bradley v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 280 (2008). It is clear from the record that the Veteran’s residuals of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, status post dorsal laminectomy, was the disability upon which TDIU was granted on May 18, 1999. The Veteran additionally had a disability rated as 60 percent, left ventricular dysfunction, from March 6, 2000, onward. Thus, the Veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date of March 6, 2000, for special monthly compensation based on housebound criteria. Evan Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Henriquez, Counsel