Citation Nr: 21069657
Decision Date: 11/19/21	Archive Date: 11/19/21

DOCKET NO. 15-41 272A
DATE: November 19, 2021

ORDER

The claim for an effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus is dismissed.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. A rating decision adjudicating the issue of entitlement to an effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus has not been issued by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).

2. The Board does not have jurisdiction to decide the Veteran's request for adjudication of the claim for an effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for dismissal of the claim for an effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus have been met.  38 U.S.C. § 7105.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from November 1993 to October 1998.

The Veteran seeks adjudication of his claim for an earlier effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.  Unfortunately, the Board does not have jurisdiction to consider this claim and it must be dismissed. 

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus was denied by the AOJ in April 2014.  The Veteran timely appealed and in October 2015 a Statement of the Case was issued denying the claim.  The Veteran submitted a substantive appeal in November 2015.

Subsequently, in July 2021, the Veteran submitted a supplemental claim for his claim for service connection for tinnitus.  A September 2021 rating decision granted service connection for tinnitus assigning a 10 percent disability rating, effective July 23, 2021.  Since this grant constituted a full grant of the benefits sought on appeal, this claim was no longer in appellate status.  AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 39 (1993).

Three days after the issuance of the September 2021 rating decision, the Veteran submitted a VA form 21-526EZ Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits for an effective date prior to July 23, 2021, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.  The AOJ, however, has not yet adjudicated this claim.  

For the Board to have jurisdiction over this appeal of the effective date for the grant of service connection for tinnitus, the Veteran needs to file a notice of disagreement on a VA Form 10-182.  This form must be received by VA within one year of the rating decision (which he was notified of September 13, 2021).

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Without this, the Board does not have jurisdiction to consider the earlier effective date claim.  38 C.F.R. § 20.104, 20.200, 20.201.  Therefore, the appeal is dismissed as a matter of law.  Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426 (1994).

 

 

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	H. Yoo, 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.