Citation Nr: A21020602 Decision Date: 12/28/21 Archive Date: 12/28/21 DOCKET NO. 210628-179030 DATE: December 28, 2021 ORDER The issue of entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability is dismissed. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a March 2020 rating decision, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied service connection for a left hip disability. Notification of the denial of service connection was sent to the Veteran on March 4, 2020. 2. On June 18, 2021, more than a year after notification of the denial of service connection, the Veteran filed a VA Form 10182, NOD, seeking an appeal for service connection for a left hip disability. 3. In July 2021, the Veteran was notified of a procedural defect in his filed NOD and given 60 days to allow the parties to submit written argument, additional evidence, or request a hearing to address the alleged procedural defect. CONCLUSION OF LAW The Board is without jurisdiction to consider the issue of entitlement to service connection for a left his disability; the appeal with respect to this issue is dismissed. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5104, 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.104, 20.200, 20, 201, 20.202, 20.203. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served in the United States Army from August 1968 to August 1970. On August 23, 2017, the President signed into law the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 115-55 (to be codified as amended in scattered sections of 38 U.S.C.), 131 Stat. 1105 (2017), also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). This law created a new framework for veterans dissatisfied with VA's decision on their claims to seek review. This decision has been written consistent with the new AMA framework. On March 4, 2020, VA issued a rating decision notification letter to the Veteran indicating that it had denied a claim for entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability. Thereafter, in June 2021, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 10182, NOD. On this form, he selected the evidence review lane and specified that he desired Board review of the issue of entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability. On July 6, 2021, the Board sent the Veteran a letter indicating that it could not accept his June 2021 NOD due to several procedural deficiencies. Subsequently, the Veteran submitted correspondence on August 18, 2021, which included a copy of the June 2021 NOD, as well as medical records and a statement that the Veteran believes his NOD was timely filed. The Veteran's correspondence did not articulate why he believed the NOD was timely filed. The Board may dismiss any appeal that fails to allege a specific error of fact or law in the determination being appealed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. Relatedly, 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (c) permits the Board to decide all questions pertaining to its jurisdictional authority to review a particular case. If the Board raises a question as to a potential jurisdictional defect on its own initiative, the Board must (1) provide notice to all parties as to the nature of the defect; and (2) grant a period of 60 days following the date on which such notice was mailed to as to allow the parties to submit written argument, additional evidence, or request a hearing. Id. Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7105 and 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (c), the Board finds that there is a procedural defect pertaining to its jurisdictional authority to review the issue of entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability. The Board notes that the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (c) have been satisfied here because (1) the Veteran was made aware of such defects via a July 6, 2021 letter; (2) more than 60 days have passed since the issuance of this letter; and (3) the Veteran was permitted the opportunity to address this defect in an August 2021 correspondence. Accordingly, the Board concludes that it does not have jurisdiction to review the issue of service connection for a left hip disability. Thus, this issue is dismissed. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (c). In support of this determination, the Board notes that VA regulations under the AMA require that a completed VA Form 10182, NOD be received within one year from the date that the agency of jurisdiction (AOJ) mailed the notice of the decision being appealed. The date of the mailing of the letter of notification of the decision is to be presumed to be the same as the date of that letter for purposes of determining whether an appeal has been timely filed. 38 C.F.R. § 20.203 (b). (Continued on the next page) Here, the Veteran indicated on his June 2021 VA Form 10182 that he was appealing the denial of service connection for a left hip disability. However, this issue was not adjudicated in any decision within one year of the Board's receipt of the June 2021 VA Form 10182. Rather, the denial of the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left hip disability was issued in March 2020. This is a procedural defect which the Veteran has not been able to cure. Accordingly, the Veteran's appeal was received beyond the one-year deadline and was untimely. Thus, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the claim and it must be dismissed. A. J. Spector Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Lent, Edward 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.