Citation Nr: 18159465 Decision Date: 12/19/18 Archive Date: 12/19/18 DOCKET NO. 15-12 693 DATE: December 19, 2018 ORDER An effective date of June 18, 1991 for the grant of service connection for coronary artery disease, status post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) two times and history of myocardial infarctions as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran filed a claim for service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) on June 18, 1991; service connection was not granted at that time. 2. Pertinent official service records, which had existed but were not associated with the claims file, were subsequently associated with the claims file. 3. The Veteran’s June 18, 1991 claim for compensation constitutes a claim for service connection for CAD. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an effective date of June 18, 1991 for service-connected coronary artery disease, status post CABG two times and history of myocardial infarctions as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5101, 5110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.1(p), 3.114(a), 3.155, 3.157, 3.400, 3.816. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from January 1968 to December 1971. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a July 2010 rating decision by the Regional Office (RO) which awarded service connection for CAD, status post CABG two times and history of myocardial infarctions as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II and assigned an effective date of May 1, 2006. The Veteran appealed the July 2010 rating decision to the Board contending that an earlier effective date was warranted. The Board denied an earlier effective date in a September 2017 decision. The Veteran appealed the Board’s September 2017 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in August 2018, the Court issued a Joint Motion for Remand. The Court vacated the Board’s September 2017 decision and remanded the claim back to the Board. Analysis The Veteran contends that the effective date for the award of service connection should be June 18, 1991, the date VA received his original claim for service connection for CAD. He asserts that his claim should be reconsidered based on the fact that a declassified 1973 Department of Defense document, Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report: Base Defense in Thailand, was associated with his claims file after VA denied his original claim. Generally, at any time after VA issues a decision on a claim, if VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim, notwithstanding the requirement that new and material evidence must first be received. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c)(1). Such “relevant official service department records” include, but are not limited to, declassified records that could not have been obtained because the records were classified when VA decided the claim. An award made based all or in part on such relevant official service department records is effective on the date entitlement arose or the date VA received the previously denied claim, whichever is later, or such other date as may be authorized by the provisions of this regulation applicable to the previously denied claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c)(3). The Board finds that this declassified report is the kind of “official service department” declassified record which could not have been obtained when VA decided the Veteran’s original claim in 1991, as recognized by 3.156(c)(iii). At that time, the Veteran had a diagnosis of CAD, but no link to his military service could be found. Although he was subsequently granted service connection for CAD based on a medical link to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, his attorney argues that the condition actually developed as a result of his exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Thailand. The Board finds this argument persuasive. VA has conceded that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents while serving in Thailand, and service connection for CAD can be granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicides. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e). Where a claim has been denied due to lack of evidence of an in-service injury, but later is granted based all or in part on subsequently acquired service records establishing the in-service injury and a nexus between the in-service injury and a current disability, the Veteran is entitled to a retroactive evaluation of the disability to assess the proper effective date—i.e., the date of the original claim or the date entitlement otherwise arose, whichever is later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c); Vigil v. West, 22 Vet. App. 63, 66-67 (2008). In order to grant such an effective date, the record must reflect evidence of CAD due to service in order for the Board to grant the claim for an earlier effective date. A June 1991 VA examination report confirmed a diagnosis of CAD. Therefore, and after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the Veteran, the Board finds that he is entitled to an effective date of June 18, 1991 for the award of service connection for CAD. There is no prior formal or informal claim for CAD prior to June 18, 1991, and the original claim was filed more than one year after service separation. Thus, there is no basis for an effective date earlier than June 18, 1991, and the claim is granted. JEREMY J. OLSEN Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. Bognar, Associate Counsel