Citation Nr: 21029366
Decision Date: 05/13/21	Archive Date: 05/13/21

DOCKET NO. 18-55 612
DATE:       May 13, 2021

ORDER

The legacy appeal for entitlement to service connection for a traumatic brain injury is dismissed.

FINDING OF FACT

In April 2020, the Veteran submitted a timely VA Form 10182 Notice of Disagreement with respect to a February 2020 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for dismissal of the legacy appeal for service connection for a traumatic brain injury are met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 19.2(d)(2).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1999 to June 2004, from June 2010 to July 2011, and from September 2013 to October 2014, to include service in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, among other decorations.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating decision. In August 2019, the Board remanded the claim to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development, and the AOJ issued an SSOC in February 2020. In April 2020, the Veteran timely opted his appeal into the modernized review system rather than the legacy appeals system, as detailed in the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), by submitting a VA Form 10182 requesting a period of 90 days to submit evidence. 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.2(d), 20.202. However, before the Veteran's opt-in could be administratively processed, in April 2020 the Board issued a decision denying the Veteran's claim in the legacy appeals system. The Veteran appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in January 2021 the Court granted a joint motion for remand in which the parties agreed to vacate the Board's decision and remand the claim for the Board to address the Veteran's April 2020 AMA opt-in. 

Because the Veteran submitted a timely VA Form 10182 electing to opt his appeal for entitlement to service connection for a traumatic brain injury into the modernized review system, dismissal of the legacy appeal is warranted. The Veteran's appeal will be docketed under the AMA pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 19.2(d)(2) and addressed in a separate decision.

 

 

J. B. FREEMAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. D. Bruce, 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.