Citation Nr: 18117232
Decision Date: 07/10/18	Archive Date: 07/10/18

DOCKET NO. 14-32 310A
DATE:	July 10, 2018
ORDER
An effective date prior to November 17, 2010, for the assignment of a 30 percent rating for right hand carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and a 20 percent rating for left hand CTS is denied.  
FINDINGS OF FACT
1.  The Veteran served on active duty from March 1974 to July 1981.
2. It is not factually ascertainable that the Veteran met the criteria for a 30 percent rating for right hand CTS and a 20 percent rating for left hand CTS at any time prior to November 17, 2010.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for an effective date prior to November 17, 2010, for the assignment of a 30 percent rating for right hand CTS and a 20 percent rating for left hand CTS have not been met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.400, 4.124a, Diagnostic Code (DC) 8515 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
In claims for increased disability compensation, the effective date will be the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability has occurred, if the claim is received by VA within one year after that date.  Otherwise, the effective date will be the date of receipt of claim or date entitlement arose, whichever is later.  38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(o)(2).
Here, the Veteran’s disabilities have been evaluated in accordance with DC 8515.  Per the rating criteria, evidence of moderate and incomplete paralysis warrants a 20 percent rating for the minor extremity and a 30 percent rating for the major extremity.  In this case, her right upper extremity is dominant.  
Upon review of the record, the Veteran is not entitled to an effective date earlier than November 17, 2010, for the awards of a 30 percent rating for her right hand CTS and a 20 percent rating for her left hand CTS, as it is not factually ascertainable that the assigned ratings were warranted prior to this date.
Instead, medical evidence prior to November 17, 2010, reflects mild and incomplete paralysis of both hands as due to the Veteran’s CTS, upon reports of mild pain and diminished sensation but absent paralysis or reduced function.  
An increase in the severity of the Veteran’s disabilities is not apparent in the record until an April 2012 VA examination, during which the VA examiner characterized the paralysis as moderate and incomplete in both hands.  Accordingly, the assigned ratings correspond with the date that the increased ratings claim was received, as no other VA examination or medical evidence of record reflects the level of severity commensurate with the criteria for the assigned ratings prior to that date.  
As the level of impairment contemplated by the criteria was not evident at any point prior to November 17, 2010, an earlier effective date for the assignment of a 30 percent rating for right hand CTS and a 20 percent rating for left hand CTS is not warranted.  Accordingly, the appeal is denied.   
Of final note, the Veteran has not raised any other issues, nor have any other issues been reasonably raised by the record, for the Board’s consideration.  See Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 366, 369-370 (2017) (confirming that the Board is not required to address issues unless they are specifically raised by the claimant or reasonably raised by the evidence of record).

 
L. HOWELL
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	K. Kovarovic, Associate Counsel