Citation Nr: 21013090 Decision Date: 03/08/21 Archive Date: 03/08/21 DOCKET NO. 19-38 255 DATE: March 8, 2021 ORDER The appeal for service connection for a condition of the right fingers is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for a condition of the left fingers is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for a left shoulder condition, as secondary to a service-connected right shoulder condition is dismissed. FINDING OF FACT By an August 2020 rating decision, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) granted the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for (a) right hand, index and long fingers, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 10 percent rating; (b) right hand, ring finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 0 percent rating; (c) left hand, index and long finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 10 percent rating; (d) left hand, ring finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 0 percent rating; and (e) left shoulder strain, secondary to service-connected right shoulder osteoarthritis, and assigned an initial 20 percent rating. CONCLUSION OF LAW An August 2020 rating decision granted the claims of entitlement to service connection for a right fingers condition, a left fingers condition and a left shoulder condition; the issues in controversy have been resolved. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (2019), formerly 38 C.F.R. § 20.101 (2018); Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d. 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from January 2007 to May 2007 and June 2008 to June 2009. Dismissals The Board has the authority to determine whether it has jurisdiction to review a case and may dismiss any case over which it does not have jurisdiction. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 20.104 (2019), formerly 38 C.F.R. § 20.101 (2018).  Under the legacy appeals system, appellate review was initiated by filing a timely notice of disagreement (NOD) in writing, and after a statement of the case (SOC) had been furnished, was completed by filing a timely substantive appeal.  38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.200, 20.201, 20.202 (2018). Specifically, a claimant or his/her representative must have filed a NOD with a determination of the regional office (RO) within one year from the date that the RO mailed notice of the determination. 38 C.F.R. § 20.302(a) (2018). A substantive appeal consisted of a properly completed VA Form 9, “Appeal to Board of Veterans’ Appeals,” or correspondence containing the necessary information.  38 C.F.R. § 20.202. A substantive appeal must have been filed within 60 days from the date when the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) mails the SOC to the claimant, or within the remainder of the one-year period from the date of mailing of the notification of the determination being appealed, whichever comes later.  38 C.F.R. § 20.302 (b)(1) (2018). Here, the AOJ’s September 2018 rating decision denied the Veteran’s service-connection claims for a left arm condition and left and right hand/fingers conditions. The Veteran submitted a NOD in August 2019 and the AOJ issued a SOC in December 2019. The Veteran then perfected appeals on the service-connection issues for the left arm and bilateral hand/fingers conditions by a December 2019 substantive appeal (VA Form 9). In March 2020, the Board remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for a left arm condition and left and right fingers conditions for additional development. On remand, in an August 2020 rating decision, the AOJ granted service connection for (a) right hand, index and long fingers, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 10 percent rating; (b) right hand, ring finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 0 percent rating; (c) left hand, index and long finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 10 percent rating; (d) left hand, ring finger, limitation of motion, and assigned an initial 0 percent rating; and (e) left shoulder strain, secondary to service-connected right shoulder osteoarthritis, and assigned an initial 20 percent rating. All of the service connection grants were effective from July 1, 2018, the date of the claim. In Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d. 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997), it was noted that a VA decision might not resolve, or even address, all necessary elements of an application for benefits. The Federal Circuit held that a NOD appealing “the logically upstream element of service-connectedness” from an initial RO decision “[cannot] concern the logically down-stream element of compensation level,” which was addressed, for the first time, in a subsequent RO decision. Id. at 1158-1159. The Board acknowledges the AOJ subsequently issued supplemental statements of the case (SSOCs) in December 2020 and January 2021 on issues of increased ratings for the newly service-connected fingers of the right and left hand in excess of 10 percent, respectively, and left shoulder strain in excess of 20 percent. However, the Veteran has not appealed the initially assigned ratings. Rather, the Veteran’s earlier August 2019 NOD disagreed only with the initial denials of service connection for the left arm and bilateral hands/fingers conditions. Because service connection for all issues previously on appeal has been established, the August 2020 determination constitutes the full grant of the benefits sought on appeal. Hence, there remain no allegations of errors of fact or law for appellate consideration. See Grantham, supra. Thus, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the appeal and it is dismissed. Of note, the RO granted the Veteran’s claims by August 2020 rating decision and issued notice by letter dated August 31, 2020. The Veteran is free to file a proper NOD with any assigned rating(s) and/or other downstream issue(s) within a year of notice of the determination. See generally 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2400, 3.2500, 20.202-20.204. C. CRAWFORD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Biswajit Chatterjee, 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.