Citation Nr: 21014320 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 19-09 139 DATE: March 11, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date of August 13, 2015, and no earlier, for the award of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT The Veteran initiated a clam of entitlement to service connection for PTSD on August 13, 2015. There was a pending claim for entitlement to service connection for PTSD prior to December 18, 2017. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an effective date earlier than December 18, 2017 for the award of service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.114, 3.155, 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1972 to August 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2018 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of that proceeding will be associated with the record. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than December 18, 2017 for the award of service connection for PTSD is granted. Generally, the effective date for a grant of service connection is the date of receipt of claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. If a claim is received within one year after separation from service, the effective date for the grant of service connection is the day following separation from service; otherwise, it is the date of receipt of the claim or date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400(b)(2)(i). The Veteran is seeking an effective date earlier than December 18, 2017 for the award of service connection for PTSD. Specifically, she believes she is entitled to an effective date of August 13, 2015. The Veteran states she began acquiring her military records through various agencies in 2013 and filed a claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD due to military sexual trauma (MST) on August 13, 2015 with her local Veterans Service Organization (VSO). The representative, Ms. T. L., was distracted by other veterans when assisting her in completing her application on this sensitive matter. The Veteran notes she was told it could take years before her claim was reviewed. Four months after filing her claim, the Veteran reached out to Ms. T. L. to inform her that her surname had been misspelled on the application and had not included her previous names. The Veteran states that two years and four months later, she reached out to the VSO for an update and reviewed her case with another representative, Ms. J. M. It was then discovered that the Veteran’s paper records had been lost and, despite the presence of the application on the office’s computer, the RO had not acknowledged the Veteran’s claim. On December 18, 2017, with the aid of Ms. J. M, the Veteran refiled her claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD. The Veteran contends she correctly followed all procedures for filing her claim, but for reasons outside of her control, her claim was never acknowledged by the RO. She alleges this may have been due to her representative’s mishandling of her file, or to the fact that the VSO was in the process of moving locations at the time and was experiencing electronic issues, or to the incorrect information on her initial application that was never corrected. Regardless of the reason, the Board has reviewed the evidence of record and the testimony presented at the February 2021 Board hearing and finds that the evidence overwhelming supports the Veteran’s contention that she properly initiated a claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD on August 13, 2015 and that, through no fault of her own, was not acknowledged by the RO. The Veteran provided evidence showing she began to collect her records in 2013 in preparation of her forthcoming claim. Associated with the claims file is a copy of an application for disability compensation related to PTSD dated August 13, 2015 and a VA Form 21-22, Appointment of Veterans Service Organization as Claimant’s Representative, reflecting Mses. T. L. and J. M. as representatives, also dated August 13, 2015. In September 2018, Mses. T. L. and J. M. submitted a statement confirming that the Veteran had originally visited their office and filed a claim on August 13, 2015, and that their office had moved locations several times since then. Finally, Ms. T. L., now a Deputy VA Officer, testified at the February 2021 Board hearing in support of the Veteran’s contentions. Presented into evidence was a screenshot of Ms. T. L.’s office computer reflecting that the Veteran’s file had been modified on November 18, 2015, substantiating the Veteran’s contention that she had called Ms. T. L. four months after initially filing her claim. As the Veteran asserted, the misspelling of her surname was not corrected. For these reasons, the Board affords the Veteran reasonable doubt and finds that an earlier effective date of August 13, 2015 for the award of service connection for PTSD is warranted. KRISTI L. GUNN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Silverblatt, 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.