Citation Nr: 21064741 Decision Date: 10/21/21 Archive Date: 10/21/21 DOCKET NO. 17-17 038 DATE: October 21, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of September 17, 2014, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for PTSD is granted. FINDING OF FACT VA received correspondence from the Veteran in which he expressed an intent to file a claim for benefits on September 17, 2014. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an effective date of September 17, 2014, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5107, 5110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.151, 3.155, 3.400, 20.302. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 2000 to July 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO)in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In April 2019, the case came before the Board. The Board issued a decision denying an effective date earlier than October 14, 2015, citing 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2): the effective date for direct service connection is the date of receipt of claim, or date entitlement arose, whichever is later. The Board noted the VA examination date of October 14, 2015, and found no earlier formal diagnosis of PTSD in the Veteran's record. In October 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court or CAVC) issued a Memorandum Decision that remanded the issue of an earlier effective date for the Veteran's service-connected PTSD back to the Board for reconsideration consistent with the terms of the decision. In its October 2020 memorandum decision, the Court found the Board, in its April 2, 2019 decision, was unclear when it decided to rely upon the onset of the Veteran's PTSD in October 2015. The Court noted the Veteran's records contained medical evidence from October 2015 to March 2016, and a June 2016 VA examination, that indicate the Veteran's PTSD symptomatology preceded the assigned October 14, 2015, effective date. The Court further noted both the October 2015 and March 2016 VA examiners suggested that the Veteran had been suffering from PTSD symptoms since 2003 or 2004. In June 2021, the case returned to the Board. The Board remanded the Veteran's claim in order to obtain a medical opinion that addressed the onset of the Veteran's psychiatric disability. 1. Entitlement to an effective date of September 17, 2014, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for PTSD The Veteran contends that the effective date for the grant of service connection for PTSD should be the date that VA received his intent to file a claim. In general, the effective date of an award of disability compensation, in conjunction with a grant of entitlement to service connection, shall be the day following separation from active service or the date entitlement arose if the claim is received within one year of separation from service; otherwise, the effective date shall be the date of receipt of the claim, or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2)(i). With regard to the date of entitlement, the term "date entitlement arose" is not defined in the current statute or regulation. However, it is the date when the veteran met the requirements for the benefits sought, which is determined on a "facts found" basis. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); McGrath v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 28, 35 (2000). An effective date generally can be no earlier than the "facts found." DeLisio v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 45 (2011). These "facts found" include the date the disability first manifested and the date entitlement to benefits was authorized by law and regulation. For instance, if a veteran filed a claim for benefits for a disability before he actually had the disability, the effective date for benefits can be no earlier than the date the disability first manifested. Ellington v. Peake, 541 F.3d 1364, 1369-70 (Fed. Cir. 2008). Prior to March 2015, the term "claim" or "application" meant a formal or informal communication in writing requesting a determination of entitlement or evidencing a belief in entitlement to a benefit. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1(p). A claimant may submit an intent to file a claim, and VA may recognize the receipt date of the intent to file a claim as the date of claim so long as VA receives the successfully completed claim form within one year of receipt of the intent to file a claim. An intent to file a claim must identify the general benefit (e.g., compensation, pension), but need not identify the specific benefit claimed or any medical condition(s) on which the claim is based. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155 (b). On September 17, 2014, VA received an intent to file a claim for benefits from the Veteran. On February 23, 2015, VA received a VA Form 21-526EZ from the Veteran in which he filed a claim for service connection for PTSD. In August 2015, the RO issued a rating decision that denied entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because the Veteran's VA examination indicated that he did not meet the criteria for a psychiatric disability. In October 2015, a VA treatment note shows that the Veteran reported adjustment issues, anger issues, and depression since he was deployed to Iraq in 2004. In June 2016, the RO issued a rating decision that awarded service connection for PTSD effective from March 30, 2016. In July 2017, the RO issued a rating decision that awarded service connection for PTSD effective from October 14, 2015. This was the date that the Veteran's VA treatment records showed a diagnosis of PTSD. In August 2021, a VA medical examiner reviewed the Veteran's claims file. After a review of the Veteran's claims file the examiner stated that in reviewing all available records, this examiner can only definitively conclude that the patient met full criteria for PTSD at the time he was assigned a diagnosis of Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder by Dr. T. H. on October 5, 2015. The VA examiner then stated that "this examiner is unable to definitively establish that the patient met full criteria for PTSD any earlier than this point in time." In August 2021, the RO issued a rating decision that awarded service connection for PTSD effective from October 5, 2015. This was the date that the Veteran's records showed an earlier diagnosis of PTSD. In sum, the Board finds that entitlement to an effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD from September 17, 2014, is warranted. In this case, the record reflects that VA received the Veteran's intent to file a claim for benefits on September 17, 2014 and that the issue pertaining to when the date entitlement arose is in equipoise. After resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that an effective date of September 17, 2014, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for PTSD is warranted. Michael J. Skaltsounis Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Rescan, 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.