Citation Nr: 21072317 Decision Date: 12/02/21 Archive Date: 12/02/21 DOCKET NO. 19-06 071A DATE: December 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007 for the grant of service connection for generalized anxiety disorder is denied. FINDING OF FACT 1. The February 1969 rating decision denied the Veteran entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder related to an eye disability; the Veteran did not appeal, and the decision became final. 2. The Veteran's petition to reopen the previously denied claim for entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disability to include generalized anxiety disorder was received by VA on August 31, 2007. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007 for the grant of service connection for generalized anxiety disorder are not met. 38U.S.C. §5110; 38C.F.R. §§3.102, 3.156(b), 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1966 to August 1968. In August 2019, the Board remanded the issue of an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007 for the grant of service connection for anxiety disorder for issuance of a statement of the case (SOC) by the Regional Office (RO). In August 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans' Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing has been reviewed and is associated with the claims file. The Board notes that the Veteran has several claims pending that were recently before the Board in August 2019; and were remanded for additional development. These will be part of a separate Board decision(s) once the necessary development has been completed. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007 for the grant of service connection for generalized anxiety disorder The Veteran contends that he is entitled to an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007 for the grant of service connection for generalized anxiety disorder. Unless specifically provided otherwise, the effective date of an award based on a claim for compensation is to be fixed in accordance with the facts found, but not earlier than the date the claim was received. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a). If a claim for compensation is received within one year after separation from service, the effective date for an award of service connection is the day following separation from active service. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2). Here, the Veteran first filed a claim for a psychiatric disability (nerves) as associated with his eye disability, in September 1968. In a February 1969 rating decision, the RO denied his psychiatric disability claim on the basis that there was no current psychiatric disability. In August 2007, the Veteran sought to reopen his service connection claim for a psychiatric disability, among other claims. Subsequently, in a January 2010 rating decision, the RO granted service connection for anxiety disorder with an evaluation of 50 percent effective August 31, 2007 (the date of receipt of his claim to reopen). The Veteran argues that his psychiatric disability warrants an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007. The Board disagrees. First, upon review of the relevant evidence, the Board finds that an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007, for the award of service connection for anxiety disorder is not warranted. Following the final rating decision of February 1969, the Board's review of the record reflects that the Veteran's next claim to reopen his claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include anxiety disorder, was received by VA on August 31, 2007. Prior to this date, there is no evidence after the final February 1969 rating decision of a claim, either formal or informal, seeking to reopen a claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability. As the February 1969 rating decision is final, the effective date for service connection was appropriately assigned as of the date the Veteran's claim [to reopen] was received on August 31, 2007. McGrath v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 28, 35 (2000) (indicating a claim that has not been finally adjudicated remains pending for purposes of determining the effective date for that disability, but conversely, that a claim which has become final and binding in the absence of an appeal does not remain pending and subject to an earlier effective date). Second, the Board notes that in a September 2021 correspondence from the Veteran's Attorney, the Veteran acknowledged that there was no evidence of a diagnosis of a psychiatric disability prior to August 31, 2007. See September 2021 Third Party Correspondence. In sum, the presently assigned effective date of August 31, 2007 is correct and there is no basis for an award of service connection for anxiety disorder prior to that date. As the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, the benefit of the doubt rule is not applicable. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 54-56 (1990). The claim of entitlement to an effective date earlier than August 31, 2007, for the award of service connection for anxiety disorder must be denied. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N. M. Rogers, 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.