Citation Nr: 18148416
Decision Date: 11/07/18	Archive Date: 11/07/18

DOCKET NO. 16-45 966
DATE:	November 7, 2018
ORDER
An effective date prior to November 30, 2015, for the award of service connection for coronary heart disease, is denied.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran filed his first claim for entitlement to service connection for coronary heart disease on November 30, 2015.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for an effective date earlier than November 30, 2015 for the award of service connection for coronary heart disease have not been met.  38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from November 1966 to September 1969.
This matter is on appeal before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a January 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
The Veteran has not raised any issues with the duty to notify or duty to assist.
The RO granted service connection for coronary heart disease in a January 2016 rating decision.  An effective date of November 30, 2015 was assigned for the award of service connection.  In his appeal, the Veteran seeks an earlier effective date of August 2015 when he was hospitalized for his heart condition.
Unless specifically provided otherwise, 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).  Generally, the effective date of an evaluation and award of service-connected compensation is the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later.  38 U.S.C. § 5110(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. 
Although the Veteran’s coronary heart disease manifested on August 20, 2015, he did not file a claim for this condition until November 30, 2015.  As the date of the Veteran’s claim is later in time, the Board is precluded from assigning an earlier effective date.  The Board received no other communications from the Veteran that could be considered an earlier claim.  38 C.F.R. § 3.1(p) (2014).  
The Board has considered the Veteran’s argument from his August 2016 VA Form 9 that in light of 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(ii)(B) an earlier effective date should be awarded.  That regulation is for assignment of an effective date for pension and not disability compensation and is not applicable to this case.  

Given the above, entitlement to an effective date earlier than November 30, 2015 for the award of service connection for coronary heart disease is denied.  38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400.   
 
Nathan Kroes
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Megan Shuster, Law Clerk