Citation Nr: 18150312 Decision Date: 11/15/18 Archive Date: 11/14/18 DOCKET NO. 17-23 272 DATE: November 15, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date earlier than December 15, 2015 for the award of service connection for left knee strain is denied. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than December 15, 2015 for the award of service connection for residuals of left calcaneal stress fracture is denied. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran initially filed a VA Form 21-526EZ claiming service connection for left knee strain and residuals of left calcaneal stress fracture on December 15, 2015, and service connection was awarded in the decision on appeal from December 15, 2015, the date of the claims. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for an effective date earlier than December 15, 2015 for the award of service connection for left knee strain have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.400 (2017). 2. The criteria for an effective date earlier than December 15, 2015 for the award of service connection for residuals of left calcaneal stress fracture have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.400 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from March 1983 to June 1999. The Veteran appeals an April 2016 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) granting service connection for left knee strain and residuals of left calcaneal stress fracture effective December 15, 2015. Specifically, he appeals the effective dates assigned. The Veteran believes the effective date for his service connection awards should relate back to the day he separated from active duty, or, in the alternative, the date he “registered with VA.” See October 2016 VA Form 9. He separated from active duty on June 27, 1999, and registered in 2005. Id. In support of his claim, he states that he was not informed of VA benefits when he separated. See April 2016 notice of disagreement (NOD). Further, he states that upon retirement from the reserves, he “went to his local VA benefits office and was told that the VA could do nothing for [him] so the only thing the representative did was register [him] with the VA and with no benefits involved.” Id. Ultimately, the Veteran feels he was not provided assistance, and that the system failed him. See October 2016 VA Form 9. The effective date for an award of service connection based on an original claim generally “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). The statutory provision is implemented by regulation, which provides that the effective date for an evaluation for disability compensation is the “date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. The effective date for an award of direct service connection may be established on the day following separation from service or the date entitlement arose, if the claim is received within one year of separation from service; otherwise, the general rule applies. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(1); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2)(i). However, claimants who filed an original compensation claim between August 6, 2013 through August 5, 2015 under the fully developed claim program may be entitled to an earlier effective date than the date of claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(2)(A) (2012). Under that provision, for a Veteran who submits an original claim that is fully-developed, the effective date of the award shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found, but shall not be earlier than the date that is one year before the date of receipt of the application. Id. Here, the Veteran submitted his original left knee and ankle service connection claims under the fully developed claim program on December 15, 2015; thus, 38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(2)(A) does not apply. The AOJ assigned an effective date from the date VA received the Veteran’s claim, or December 15, 2015. The Veteran did not submit any service connection claim before this date. While the Board is sympathetic to the Veteran’s argument, he did not submit a claim within a year of separation, and first filed on December 15, 2015. Accordingly, the appropriate effective date for the grant of service connection for the Veteran’s left knee strain and residuals of left calcaneal stress fracture is December 15, 2015, and his claim must be denied. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Salazar, Associate Counsel