Citation Nr: 18156903 Decision Date: 12/11/18 Archive Date: 12/11/18 DOCKET NO. 18-06 085 DATE: December 11, 2018 ORDER An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for left foot arthritis is denied. An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right foot arthritis is denied. An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for left hip strain thigh impairment is denied. An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain thigh impairment is denied. An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain limitation of flexion is denied. An effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain limitation of extension is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s claim for service connection for left and right foot disabilities was received on June 13, 2016. 2. Service connection for left and right hip disabilities was denied in a May 2015 rating decision, and the Veteran did not perfect an appeal or submit new and material evidence within one year of that decision; the Veteran’s reopened claim for service connection for a left hip disability was received on June 13, 2016. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for left foot arthritis have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). 2. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right foot arthritis have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). 3. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for left hip strain thigh impairment have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). 4. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain thigh impairment have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). 5. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain limitation of flexion have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). 6. The criteria for an effective date earlier June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for right hip strain limitation of extension have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from June 1973 to June 1983. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Earlier Effective Dates In an August 2016 rating decision, service connection was granted for left and right foot arthritis and left and right hip strains, with separate ratings assigned for thigh impairment, limitation of flexion, and limitation of extension, effective June 13, 2016. Thereafter, the Veteran appealed the effective dates assigned to his service-connected arthritis of the feet, left and right hip strains with thigh impairment, and right hip strain with limitation of flexion and extension. The Veteran asserts that the effective dates should be 1974 because that is when his disabilities began. The effective date of an award of compensation based on an original claim or a claim reopened after final disallowance, will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. The effective date of an award based on a claim reopened after final adjudication 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; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(q)(2), (r). 1. Left and Right Foot Arthritis Upon review of the record, the Board finds that an effective date earlier than June 13, 2016, for the award of service connection for left and right foot arthritis is not warranted. The Veteran’s initial claim for service connection for left and right foot disabilities was received on June 13, 2016. The evidence does not reflect a claim for service connection for his feet was received prior to that date, nor does the Veteran allege such. Rather, he asserts an earlier effective date is warranted because the condition began in service. However, the law is clear that the effective date of service connection is the date of claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (emphasis added); see also Lalonde v. West, 12 Vet. App. 377, 382 (1999) (holding that "the effective date of an award of service connection is not based on the date of the earliest medical evidence demonstrating a causal connection, but on the date that the application upon which service connection was eventually awarded was filed with VA"). As the Veteran’s claim for service connection of the feet was received after the condition began, the effective date cannot be earlier than the June 13, 2016 date of claim. Accordingly, an effective date earlier than June 13, 2016, is denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. 2. Left and Right Hip Disabilities Service connection for left and right hip disabilities was initially denied in a May 2015 rating decision, and the Veteran was informed of that decision by a letter dated May 13, 2015. The Veteran did not appeal that decision or submit new and material evidence within one year of that decision. Therefore, the May 2015 rating decision is final. See 38 38 U.S.C. § 7104 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.200, 20.202, 20.302, 20.1103 (2018). Upon review of the record, the Board finds that an effective date earlier than June 13, 2016, is not warranted. The Veteran’s request to reopen the claim for service connection for left and right hip disabilities was received on June 13, 2016. In an August 2016 rating decision, service connection was granted after the Veteran asserted that he was seeking service connection for hip disabilities secondary to his service-connected knee disabilities, and a VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s bilateral hip strains were caused by his service-connected knee disabilities. As the Veteran’s reopened claim for service connection for bilateral hip disabilities was granted based on the receipt of new and material evidence received more than one year after the prior final denial, the effective date for the award of compensation is the date of receipt of the claim to reopen, or June 13, 2016. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(q). Accordingly, an effective date earlier than June 13, 2016, is denied. K. A. BANFIELD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD C. Banister, Counsel