Citation Nr: 18153036 Decision Date: 11/27/18 Archive Date: 11/26/18 DOCKET NO. 14-41 229 DATE: November 27, 2018 ORDER In the absence of new and material evidence, the application to reopen the previously denied claim of service connection for a mental/nervous condition, to include schizophrenia, is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Originally, an unappealed May 1970 rating decision denied service connection for a neuropsychiatric condition. Subsequently, an unappealed August 2008 rating decision denied service connection for a mental/nervous condition. 2. Evidence added to the record since the final August 2008 rating decision regarding a mental/nervous condition is cumulative or redundant of the evidence of record at the time of that decision and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The August 2008 rating decision regarding the claim of entitlement to service connection for a mental/nervous condition is final. 38 U.S.C. § 7105 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.160(d), 20.200, 20.302, 20.1103 (2017). 2. New and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for a mental/nervous condition. 38 U.S.C. § 5108 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service in the United States Navy from July 1963 to July 1965. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Veteran submitted a notice of disagreement in August 2014. A statement of the case (SOC) was issued in November 2014. The Veteran perfected a timely substantive appeal via VA Form 9 in November 2014. Additional VA treatment records were associated with the claims file following the issuance of the November 2014 SOC. However, the Board finds that such records are largely cumulative of prior evidence and not relevant to the claim at hand, as they reflect the current nature of his condition, but do not address the essential issue of a nexus between that condition and the Veteran’s service. Accordingly, appellate consideration of these issues may proceed without prejudice to the Veteran. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.31 (2017). New and Material Evidence The Board has reviewed all of the evidence in the Veteran’s claims file, with an emphasis on the evidence relevant to this appeal. The Board will summarize the relevant evidence and focus specifically on what the evidence shows or fails to show as to the claims. See, e.g., Gonzales v. West, 218 F.3d 1378, 1380-81 (Fed. Cir. 2000) When there is an approximate balance of evidence regarding an issue material to the determination of a matter, the benefit of the doubt in resolving the issue shall be given to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 4.3 (2017); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990). 1. Whether new and material evidence was received to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a mental/nervous condition, also claimed as schizophrenia. A claim of entitlement to service connection for a mental/nervous condition was previously denied, and the Veteran seeks to reopen this claim. In general, RO rating decisions that are not timely appealed are final. See 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.1103. If a claim of entitlement to service connection has been previously denied and that decision became final, the claim can be reopened and reconsidered only if new and material evidence is presented with respect to that claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; Manio v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 140, 145 (1991). New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decision-makers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). VA must review all of the evidence submitted since the last final rating decision in order to determine whether the claim may be reopened. See Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 251 (1999). The credibility of the evidence is presumed for the purpose of reopening, unless it is inherently false or untrue or, if it is in the nature of a statement or other assertion, it is beyond the competence of the person making the assertion. Duran v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 216 (1995); Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510 (1992). The threshold for determining whether new and material evidence raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating a claim is “low.” Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110, 117 (2010). Here, the Veteran originally submitted a claim of entitlement to service connection for a nervous condition in January 1970. A May 1970 rating decision denied the claim. He did not appeal that decision, nor did he submit any new and material evidence within a year of that rating decision. The May 1970 rating decision therefore became final. See 38 U.S.C. § 7105(c); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1103. The Veteran subsequently submitted a claim of entitlement to service connection for a nervous/mental condition in June 2008. He was afforded a VA mental disorders examination in conjunction with his claim. An August 2008 rating decision denied the claim due to lack of nexus between his diagnosed condition and his service. He did not appeal that decision, nor did he submit any new and material evidence within a year of that rating decision. The August 2008 rating decision therefore became final. See 38 U.S.C. § 7105(c); 38 C.F.R. § 20.1103. Thus, new and material evidence is required to reopen the claim of service connection for a mental/nervous condition. See 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156; Jackson v. Principi, 265 F.3d (Fed. Cir. 2001). Relevant evidence of record at the time of the August 2008 decision included service treatment records (STRs), post-service VA treatment records, the April 1970 and July 2008 VA examination reports, and statements from the Veteran, including his claim. In May 2014, the Veteran filed a new claim for entitlement to service connection for a mental/nervous condition. Relevant additional evidence received since the prior decision includes additional post-service VA treatment records and statements from the Veteran. The Board notes that the August 2008 rating decision did not dispute the existence of a current disability or the Veteran’s in-service treatment for a situational reaction, but denied the claim due to lack of evidence of any nexus between his current diagnosis and his service. The medical evidence received since the August 2008 rating decision demonstrates that the Veteran continues to suffer from mental health issues. Thus, it is largely cumulative, as it demonstrates the existence of a current diagnosis. The Veteran’s statements that describe the in-service treatment for a nervous condition are also cumulative of evidence previously considered. Significantly, no additional evidence has been received purporting to establish a nexus between his current mental health diagnosis and his service. To the extent that the Veteran’s statements reflect his personal belief that he has a mental/nervous disorder related to service, this evidence is cumulative of evidence previously considered. Cumulative and duplicative evidence is not new. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). Thus, the evidence is not new and material and is therefore insufficient to reopen the claim. As noted in the August 2008 rating decision, the April 2008 VA examination report found it less likely than not that the current schizophrenia was related to the incidents documented in service. A note from a VA treatment provider regarding a potential nexus was deemed not probative, as it was given without any rationale or factual basis. These opinions have not been supplemented in any of the additional evidence. Accordingly, the Board finds that the evidence received since the August 2008 rating decision is either duplicative or cumulative of evidence previously of record, or does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim, such that this evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). Therefore, new and material evidence has not been received and the claim for service connection for a mental/nervous condition, to include schizophrenia, is not reopened. 38 U.S.C. § 5108. TANYA SMITH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Jamison, Elizabeth G.