Citation Nr: 21061978
Decision Date: 10/06/21	Archive Date: 10/06/21

DOCKET NO. 21-00 807
DATE: October 6, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than May 15, 2006 for the award of service connection for tinea pedis/manis is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran did not timely appeal the February 13, 2018 Statement of the Case (SOC) denying the claim for an effective date earlier than May 15, 2006 for the award of service connection for tinea pedis/manis.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The claim for an effective date earlier than May 15, 2006 for the award of service connection for tinea pedis/manis is dismissed.  38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.200, 20.201.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1961 to October 1963 with additional periods of unverified service.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a December 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

The Veteran's claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in an October 1967 rating decision that denied service connection for a skin condition of the left hand and feet is REFERRED to the AOJ for appropriate action.   See Letter from the Veteran dated March 12, 2021, received on April 2, 2021.

1. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than May 15, 2006 for the award of service connection for tinea pedis/manis is dismissed.

In September 2016, the Board remanded the claim for an effective date earlier than May 15, 2006 for the award of service connection for tinea pedis/manis for the RO to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) in response to a timely notice of disagreement filed by the Veteran as to the May 15, 2006 effective date assigned.  Pursuant to the Board's remand, the RO issued the SOC in February 2018.  The Veteran did not appeal the SOC, however.  He does not assert, nor does the evidence show, that he submitted a Substantive Appeal.  Therefore, the issue of an earlier effective date is not before the Board and must be dismissed.  38 C.F.R. § 20.200 (An appeal consists of a timely filed Notice of Disagreement in writing and, after a SOC has been furnished, a timely filed Substantive Appeal).  It appears that this claim was returned to the Board in error.  

While, in April 2021, the Veteran asserted CUE in the October 1967 rating decision that denied service connection for a skin condition of the left hand and feet, the Board does not currently have jurisdiction over the CUE issue.  As CUE is a separate issue, it must be initially adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) and the Veteran will need to appeal the CUE claim separately before the Board has jurisdiction.  See Jarrell v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 326, 334 (2006).  Therefore, as noted above, the Veteran's CUE claim is REFERRED to the AOJ for appropriate action.  

 

P.M. DILORENZO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	R. Scarduzio, Counsel

The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.