Citation Nr: 21071477 Decision Date: 11/30/21 Archive Date: 11/30/21 DOCKET NO. 15-41 289 DATE: November 30, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve, rated as 10 percent disabling prior to April 16, 2021, and as 20 percent disabling thereafter, is dismissed. Entitlement to increased disability ratings for right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy involving the sciatic nerve, rated as 10 percent disabling prior to April 16, 2021, and as 20 percent disabling thereafter, is dismissed. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In November 2018, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) remanded the Veteran's legacy appeal regarding entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. 2. On October 14, 2021, after taking further action, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) furnished the Veteran with a Supplemental Statement of the Case with respect to the matters of his entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. 3. On November 10, 2021, the Veteran timely opted into the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) review system by submitting a VA Form 20-0996 (Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review) with respect to his claims of entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. 4. On November 19, 2021, the AOJ issued a Higher-Level Review Rating Decision under the AMA review system adjudicating his claims of entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The Board does not presently have jurisdiction to consider the merits of the Veteran's legacy appeal regarding entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 20.205. 2. The Board does not presently have jurisdiction to consider the merits of the Veteran's legacy appeal regarding entitlement to increased disability ratings for right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 20.205. 3. The Board does not presently have jurisdiction to consider the merits of the Veteran's legacy appeal regarding entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 20.205. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty for training from January 1995 to May 1995, and on active duty from October 1996 to June 2000 (from which discharge was under other than honorable conditions) and from December 2008 to November 2009 (from which discharge was honorable). These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from March 2011 and December 2013 Rating Decisions of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran initially requested a Travel Board hearing before the Board on his February 2014 VA Form 9. However, in an August 2018 correspondence, the Veteran's attorney stated that the Veteran no longer wanted a hearing before the Board. This case was previously before the Board in November 2018 under the legacy appeal system. At that time, the Board remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, for additional development. The AMA allows VA claimants with legacy appeals to opt into the modernized review system by requesting review of Supplemental Statement of the Case issued on or after February 19, 2019, if the opt-in is elected on a form prescribed by VA for that purpose and is received within one year of the date of the notification of the underlying decision, or within 60 days from the issuance of the Supplemental Statement of the Case, whichever is later. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400(c)(2). In the present case, the Board, in November 2018, remanded the Veteran's legacy appeal regarding entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. On October 14, 2021, after taking further action, the AOJ furnished the Veteran a Supplemental Statement of the Case with respect to those issues. On November 10, 2021, the Veteran opted into the AMA review system by submitting a VA Form 20-0996. On November 19, 2021, the AOJ issued a Higher-Level Review Rating Decision under the AMA review system adjudicating his claims of entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder. The Veteran's November 2021 VA Form 20-0996 was clearly received within 60 days of the October 2021 Supplemental Statement of the Case. As such, his request for Higher-Level Review satisfies the legal requirements for opting into the AMA review system. That request must be honored. Under the law, once an eligible claimant elects the modernized review system with respect to a particular claim, the provisions of 38 C.F.R. Parts 19 and 20 pertaining to legacy appeals no longer apply to that claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2400(d). By submitting the VA Form 20-0996, the Veteran effectively withdrew his appeal with respect to the claims of entitlement to increased disability ratings for left lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy and right lower extremity lumbar radiculopathy, as well as entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, from the legacy appeal system. As such, there remain no allegations of errors of fact or law for appellate consideration under that system. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the legacy appeal and it must be dismissed. Tiffany Dawson Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Anthony M. Flamini 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.