Citation Nr: 19129207 Decision Date: 04/15/19 Archive Date: 04/15/19 DOCKET NO. 16-34 873 DATE: April 15, 2019 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of July 1, 2005 (the day following discharge from service), but no sooner, for the award of service connection for an aortic aneurysm is granted, subject to the laws and regulations governing the award of monetary benefits. FINDING OF FACT The evidence of record shows that VA was notified of the Veteran’s intention to file a claim for his aortic aneurysm when he submitted a DD Form 2697 in May 2005, while he was still in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date of July 1, 2005, but no sooner, for the award of service connection for an aortic aneurysm are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110, 5121; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.151, 3.155, 3.160, 3.400, 3.816(c), 3.1000. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1984 to June 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Veteran filed a notice of disagreement in January 2015 and a statement of the case was issued in June 2016. The Veteran perfected his appeal by filing a VA Form-9 in July 2016 and elected to appear before the Board for a hearing in Washington, D.C. In March 2019, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Board hearing. The transcript from the hearing has not yet been associated with the file, as the appeal is being granted under the Board’s One Touch program. The hearing transcript will still be processed and associated with the claims file in the ordinary course of business. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s contention, through his representative, that he should be granted earlier effective dates for other service-connected disabilities identified on the May 2005 DD Form 2697. However, the Board notes that the only issue that has been perfected to the Board is the issue of entitlement to an earlier effective date for an aortic aneurysm. Effective Date In general, the effective date of an evaluation and award of compensation based on an original claim, a claim reopened after final disallowance, or a claim for increase will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. Effective March 24, 2015, VA amended its regulations to require that all claims governed by VA’s adjudication regulations be filed on a standard form. The amendments also, inter alia, eliminate the constructive receipt of VA reports of hospitalization or examination and other medical records as informal claims to reopen. See 79 Fed. Reg. 57,660 (Sept. 25, 2014), codified as amended at 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.151, 3.155 (2016). The amended regulations, however, apply only to claims filed on or after March 24, 2015. Because this claim was initiated prior to that date, the former regulations apply. Generally, if the Veteran filed a claim for service connection for the condition at issue within one year of his separation from service, then his effective date for the grant of compensation benefits for the condition may be retroactive to the day following his discharge from service. In essence, this obligates VA to compensate him for the disability from the point when the service department’s obligation ended, i.e., from the point when he transitioned from military to civilian life. But if he did not file a claim for this condition within one year after service, the earliest effective date he may receive is when he eventually filed his claim. And if there was a decision denying his claim, which he did not appeal or abandoned, then the earliest effective date that he may receive (if his claim is later granted on the basis of new and material evidence) is the date of receipt of his petition to reopen the claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (b)(2)(i), (r), (q)(1)(ii). In some cases, a report of examination or hospitalization may be accepted as an informal claim for benefits. 38 C.F.R. § 3.157(b) (2014). The date of outpatient or hospital examination or date of admission to a VA hospital will be accepted as the date of receipt of a claim when such reports relate to examination or treatment of a disability for which service connection has previously been established or when a claim specifying the benefit sought is received within one year from the date of such examination, treatment or hospital admission. 38 C.F.R. § 3.157(b) (2014). After careful consideration of the evidence, any reasonable doubt remaining is resolved in favor of the Veteran. 38 C.F.R. § 4.3. If the evidence for and against a claim is in equipoise, then the claim will be granted. A claim will be denied only if the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 56 (1990). The evidence below focuses on the most salient and relevant evidence and on what this evidence shows or fails to show. The Veteran should not assume that the Board has overlooked pieces of evidence that are not specifically discussed herein. See Timberlake v. Gober 14 Vet. App. 122 (2000). The law requires only that the Board provide reasons for rejecting evidence favorable to the Veteran. 1. Entitlement to an effective date prior to May 13, 2014, for the award of service connection for an aortic aneurysm The Veteran contends that an earlier effective date of July 1, 2005, the date following his separation from service, is warranted for the award of service connection for his aortic aneurysm. The Veteran claims that he filed a DD Form 2697 while in service, which constituted claim, warranting an earlier effective date for his aortic aneurysm. The evidence of record shows that the Veteran filed a DD Form 2697 in May 2005, while still in service. The DD Form 2697 included an aneurysm of the aortic root as one of the Veteran’s problems while in service, and the Veteran checked “yes,” for intending to seek VA disability. The form indicates that it will be shared with VA. A general statement of intent to seek benefits, combined with a reasonably identifiable in-service medical diagnosis reflected in service treatment records in VA’s possession prior to the RO decision on the claim, may be sufficient to constitute a claim for benefits. See Sellers v. Wilkie, 30 Vet. App. 157 (2018). The Board finds that the Veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date of July 1, 2005, for the award of service connection for his aortic aneurysm based on the DD Form 2697 the Veteran filed while he was still in service, indicating a diagnosis for an aneurysm of the aortic root while in active duty. As the DD Form 2697 clearly indicates that a copy of the form would be released to the VA, the Board finds that the VA was notified of the Veteran’s intent to file a claim when the form was submitted in May 2005. The effective date to be assigned is the day following separation from active service or date entitlement arose if claim is received within one year after separation from service. In this instance, the Veteran’s initial claim was filed in May 2005, while he was still in service. Therefore, an earlier effective date back to the day following separation from service, July 1, 2005, is warranted for the award of service connection for an aortic aneurysm. M. Donohue Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. Morrad, Associate Counsel