Citation Nr: 21022407
Decision Date: 04/15/21	Archive Date: 04/15/21

DOCKET NO. 13-13 648
DATE: April 15, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to restoration of service connection for multiple sclerosis is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The AOJ prepared a rating decision, contained in the file, granting service connection for multiple sclerosis.

2. The Veteran is aware of the rating decision; therefore, the decision is promulgated.

3. The AOJ did not sever service connection for multiple sclerosis.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

Service connection for multiple sclerosis is restored in the absence of a proper severance. 38 U.S.C. § 3.105(d).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1974 to September 1974. She served less than 90 days.

The Veteran appeared at a Board hearing in October 2015; a transcript is of record.  During the Board hearing, the undersigned Veterans Law Judge clarified the issues on appeal, identified potential evidentiary defects, and clarified the type of evidence that would support the Veteran’s claim. The actions of the Veterans Law Judge supplement the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) and comply with any related duties owed during a hearing. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.103.

1. Entitlement to service connection for multiple sclerosis

The Veteran’s file contains a rating decision that codes multiple sclerosis as a “1”, service connected from May 8, 2009, and assigned a 30 percent rating. The record reflects that the Veteran is aware of the rating decision. Therefore, whether intentional or not, the rating decision has been promulgated. Thereafter, the record contains no severance of the grant of service connection.

The Board remanded the file for the AOJ to address the situation. The remand instructions were all but ignored. The Board shall not Remand again.

To the extent that the AOJ has attempted to change a promulgated rating decision, shall actions fail to follow regulation and are void. Service connection for multiple sclerosis is restored. 

 

H. N. SCHWARTZ

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Jonah Nelson, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.