Citation Nr: 21070220
Decision Date: 11/23/21	Archive Date: 11/23/21

DOCKET NO. 15-17 579
DATE: November 23, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

Following the issuance of a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) in September 2021, the Veteran opted into the Veterans Appeals Improvement Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA) review system by submitting a VA Form 20-0996, Decision Review Request, Higher Level Review, which was received on October 9, 2021, with respect to this claim.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim of entitlement to an acquired psychiatric condition under the Legacy appeals system.  38 US.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 19.52, 20.202, 20.204.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty for training in the United States Army from August 1989 to November 1989 and active duty in the United States Navy from May 1991 to June 1997.

This matter comes before the Board on appeal from an August 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional office.  This matter was previously remanded by the Board in March 2021.

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition is dismissed.

The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to allege specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed.  38 U.S.C. § 7105.  An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal at any time before the Board promulgates a decision.  38 C.F.R. § 20.205.

Here, prior to the issuance of a decision on this matter, in an October 2021 VA Form 20-0996, the Veteran opted into AMA following the issuance of the September 2021 SSOC, seeking higher-level review of the denial of his claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition.  Thus, by opting into AMA following the issuance of the September 2021 SSOC, the appeal as to entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition was withdrawn from the Legacy appeal process.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400(d).   

Accordingly, the appeal of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition under the Legacy appeal process is dismissed.  The Board notes that the AMA appeal of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition remains active, and a decision will be rendered in the normal course of business.

 

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.