Citation Nr: 21005995 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-09 608 DATE: February 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of August 22, 2014 is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran was discharged from active duty on August 21, 2014. 2. On January 8, 2015, he filed an informal claim of entitlement to service connection. 3. On August 28, 2015, he filed several claims of entitlement to service connection to include a claim of entitlement to service connection for heart palpitations. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date of service connection for PTSD of August 22, 2014 are met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 2009 to August 2014. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a rating decision by a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In the decision, the RO granted entitlement to service connection for PTSD and assigned a disability rating of 70 percent effective May 18, 2017. The Veteran appealed the assigned effective date of service connection. In April 2019, the Board denied the claim. The Veteran appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In June 2020, the Court vacated the decision and remanded the claim for further consideration. The case is again before the Board for appellate review. Effective Date The Veteran claims entitlement to an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for PTSD. The applicable law and regulations concerning effective dates state in relevant part that, except as otherwise provided, the effective date of an evaluation and award of compensation based on an original claim will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. It is otherwise provided under 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b) that VA must assign an effective date of service connection the day following separation from active service if the claim is received within one year of separation from service. Effective March 24, 2015, VA amended its adjudication regulations to require that all claims governed by VA’s adjudication regulations be filed on standard forms prescribed by the Secretary. See 79 Fed. Reg. 57,660 (Sept. 25, 2014). Prior to the amendment, a “claim” was defined broadly to include a formal or informal communication in writing requesting a determination of entitlement or evidencing a belief in entitlement to a benefit. 38 C.F.R. § 3.1. Under the pre-amendment regulations, any communication or action indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits under laws administered by the VA from a claimant may be considered an informal claim. Upon receipt of an informal claim, an application form will be forwarded to the claimant for execution. If the application form is received within one year from the date it was sent to the claimant, it will be considered filed as of the date of receipt of the informal claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155. In this matter, the Veteran was discharged from active duty on August 21, 2014. On January 8, 2015, he filed an informal claim of entitlement to service connection. In February 2015, the RO acknowledged receipt of the claim and forwarded to the Veteran a formal application form. The Veteran then filed the application form on August 28, 2015, seeking entitlement to service connection for several disorders to include heart palpitations. As noted by the Court, the claim regarding heart palpitations may be construed as a claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include PTSD. This is based on the Veteran’s statements around the time of the claim, the medical evidence dated at that time, and the nature of the Veteran’s service. The statements and evidence indicate that the Veteran had anxiety problems rather than a heart disorder. In fact, a VA cardiology treatment record dated earlier in the month of the August 2015 claim states that testing indicated a normal heart, but that the elevated heartbeat “may be due to stimulants, anxiety (PTSD), or insomnia.” The record also states that insomnia “was likely due to social stressors and PTSD.” In a VA treatment record dated just after the claim was filed, a psychologist reported the Veteran as saying that he believes he might have PTSD based on statements from friends and family. Moreover, the evidence of record established at the time of the August 2015 claim that the Veteran served in Iraq as a U.S. Marine during a time of hostilities. The statements and evidence available to VA at the time of the claim indicated that the claim for heart palpitations was actually a broader claim for the disorder causing the symptom. As such, the claim should be framed more broadly as one for an acquired psychiatric disorder. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2009). The August 2015 claim should be considered the original claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. Inasmuch as the informal claim was received within one year of separation from service, and the August 2015 claim was received within one year of the RO’s acknowledgement of the informal claim, the effective date assigned for service connection must be August 22, 2014, the day after separation. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.155, 3.400. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Christopher McEntee, 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.