Citation Nr: 21068994 Decision Date: 11/17/21 Archive Date: 11/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-34 685 DATE: November 17, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of January 20, 2011, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. On January 20, 2011, VA received the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. 2. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether it was factually ascertainable that the Veteran had PTSD on January 20, 2011. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date of January 20, 2011, for the award of service connection for PTSD, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5101, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.151, 3.155, 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from September 1966 to October 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2014 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional office. In July 2021, the Veteran testified via video conference before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A copy of the hearing transcript has been associated with the claims file. See July 2021 Board Hearing Transcript. Entitlement to an effective date of January 20, 2011, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is granted. Factual and Procedural Background. In January 2011, the Veteran submitted a claim of entitlement to service connection for, inter alia, PTSD. See January 2011 VA Form 21-526. The claim was denied in a May 2013 rating decision as the evidence did not show a confirmed diagnosis of PTSD. In June 2013, within the appeal period, the Veteran again submitted a claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. See June 2013 VA Form 21-526EZ. The RO requested his CAPRI records, which included a diagnosis of PTSD, dated in November 2013. In January 2014, the Veteran submitted a statement in support of claim, wherein he asserted that he was under treatment at the VA Outpatient Clinic at Mare Island. In July 2014, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in which the examiner provided a diagnosis of PTSD. See July 2014 VA Initial PTSD Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ), received August 2014. In the September 2014 rating decision, service connection for PTSD was granted, effective July 31, 2014, the date of the VA examination diagnosing PTSD. Thereafter, the Veteran submitted a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) as to the effective date of the award of service connection. The appeal was ultimately perfected and is the matter currently before the Board. The Veteran's VA treatment records indicate a diagnosis of PTSD as early as September 2006. See Northern California VA Healthcare System (VAHCS) records, received January 2014, June 2015, and May 2017 in CAPRI; Greater Los Angeles VAHCS records, received June 2015 and May 2017 in CAPRI. Analysis. In general, the effective date of an award of disability compensation, in conjunction with a grant of entitlement to service connection, shall be the later of 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). Additionally, a claim which has been denied in an unappealed Board decision or an unappealed rating decision may not thereafter be reopened and allowed. 38 U.S.C. §§ 7104(b), 7105(c). However, when a Veteran submits a claim to reopen a previously denied claim, and such claim is subsequently reopened and allowed, absent a claim of a clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in a prior final decision, and a showing thereof, the effective date of the award of disability compensation shall be the date of receipt of the claim to reopen or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(r); Leonard v. Nicholson, 405 F. 3d 1333, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2005). Here, the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD was initially submitted in January 2011 and denied in a May 2013 rating decision. Though the Veteran did not appeal this decision, in June 2013, within the appeal period the Veteran asked that his claim be reopened. See June 2013 VA Form 21-526EZ; January 2014 VA Form 21-4138. As the Veteran provided additional evidence regarding his claim within the appeal period, the Board finds that the May 2013 rating decision did not become final and is associated with the original claim. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b). As such, the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2) apply, meaning the effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD shall be the date of receipt of the initial claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. Here, in the September 2014 rating decision granting service connection for PTSD, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) assigned an effective date of July 31, 2014, identifying this as the date the Veteran was diagnosed with PTSD (i.e. the date entitlement arose). However, the Veteran's VA treatment records reveal a diagnosis of PTSD as early as September 2006. See Northern California VAHCS records; Greater Los Angeles VAHCS records. As discussed above, the Veteran first filed a claim of entitlement to service connection on January 20, 2011. See January 2011 VA Form 21-526. Though entitlement arose as early as September 2006, an effective date cannot be assigned any earlier than the application from which the grant initiated from. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2); Stowers v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 550, 553-54 (2014) (quoting Lalonde v. West, 12 Vet. App. 377, 382 (1999)). Moreover, the effective date is the later of the date of claim or entitlement arose, which here, the later date is the date of claim. Accordingly, an effective date of January 20, 2011, but no earlier, for the grant of service connection for PTSD is warranted, where it is based on the date of receipt of the claim therefor. See 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2). (continued on the next page) YVETTE R. WHITE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. T. Martin III, Associate 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.