Citation Nr: 21032173 Decision Date: 05/26/21 Archive Date: 05/26/21 DOCKET NO. 14-43 129 DATE: May 26, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an earlier effective date, prior to January 3, 2013, for the grant of a compensable rating for urethral stricture is denied. FINDING OF FACT There is no prior claim for an increased rating for urethral stricture prior to January 3, 2013, and clinical findings supporting a compensable rating one year prior to receipt of the claim were not demonstrated.. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for assignment of an effective date earlier than January 3, 2013, for an increased rating for urethral stricture, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from September 1969 to July 1971. The Veteran testified at a Travel Board hearing in March 2018. This matter was Remanded by the Board in August 2018. Development to the extent possible has been accomplished and the matter returned to the Board. Entitlement to an earlier effective date, prior to January 3, 2013, for the grant of a compensable rating for urethral stricture. VA law and regulation provide that unless otherwise provided, the effective date of an award of increased evaluation shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of the application therefor. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. Regulations also provide that the effective date of an evaluation and award of compensation based on a claim for increase will be the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is the later. 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(1). The Board notes that the effective date of an award of increased compensation may, however, be established at the earliest date as of which it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred, if the application for an increased evaluation is received within one year from that date. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (b)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(2). Three possible dates may be assigned depending on the facts of a case: (1) if an increase in disability occurs after the claim is filed, the date that the increase is shown to have occurred (date entitlement arose) (38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(1)); (2) if an increase in disability precedes the claim by a year or less, the date that the increase is shown to have occurred (factually ascertainable) (38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(2)); or (3) if an increase in disability precedes the claim by more than a year, the date that the claim is received (date of claim) (38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (o)(2)). See Harper v. Brown, 10 Vet. App. 125, 126 (1997). Thus, determining an appropriate effective date for an increased rating under the effective date regulations involves an analysis of the evidence to determine (1) when a claim for an increased rating was received and, if possible, (2) when the increase in disability actually occurred. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.155, 3.400(o)(2). The Veteran was granted service connection for non-specific urethritis in a July 1971 rating decision and assigned a noncompensable rating. In a supplemental claim received on January 3, 2013, the Veteran filed a claim for an increased rating for his urinary condition. The claim was dated by the Veteran on January 3, 2012. In an August 2014 statement, the Veteran reported that in August 2014, he delivered his medical records to the VA to "support [his]n existing VA claim for service-connected disabilities." In a March 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he filed a claim for an increase in 1984 for which he received no response and had medical records showed an increase in severity prior to 2013. The Board remanded the claim in August 2018, directing the RO to obtain treatment records from 1994. Treatment records were obtained from 2006; however, no claim for an increased rating was found as part of those records. An archival search of the Vet Center records reportedly revealed no records from that time. Therefore, as there was no pending unadjudicated claim for an increased rating for urethral stricture prior to January 3, 2013, an earlier effective date is not warranted. Similarly, while an effective date for a claim for increase may also be granted prior to the date of claim if it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability had occurred within one year from the date of claim, such an effective date is not warranted in the present case. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.400 (o)(1) and (2). There is nothing to suggest an increase in the Veteran's urethral stricture within the year prior to his January 3, 2013 claim. In conclusion, the preponderance of the evidence is against an earlier effective date for an increased rating for urethral stricture. As a preponderance of the evidence is against the award of an earlier effective date, the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine is not applicable in the instant appeal. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b). MICHAEL D. LYON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Shana Z. Siesser, 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.