Citation Nr: 21041013 Decision Date: 07/07/21 Archive Date: 07/07/21 DOCKET NO. 19-25 546 DATE: July 7, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an effective date for service connection for sciatica of the right lower leg of January 27, 2016 is granted. REMAND Entitlement to service connection for sciatica of the left lower leg is remanded. FINDING OF FACT On January 27, 2016, the Veteran submitted a claim of entitlement to service connection for right leg sciatica, and the record showed that the disability had been diagnosed prior to that date. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an effective date of January 27, 2016 for the Veteran's right leg sciatica have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from January 1957 to June 1965. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an August 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran was afforded a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in July 2020. A copy of the transcript is of record. In November 2020 the Board issued a remand for further development. There has not been substantial compliance with Board remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Entitlement to an earlier effective date Generally, "the effective date of an award based on an original claim, a claim reopened after final adjudication, or a claim for increase, of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension, shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of application therefor." 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a). The effective date for an award based on an original claim of compensation shall be the "[d]ay following separation from active service or date entitlement arose if [the] claim is received within 1 year after separation from service; otherwise, date of receipt of claim, or date entitlement arose, whichever is later." 38 C.F.R. § 3.400 (b)(2)(i). Although a claimant need not identify the benefit sought "with specificity," see Servello v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 196, 199-200, some intent on the part of the Veteran to seek benefits must be demonstrated. See Brannon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 32, 34-35 (1998). VA must perform a sympathetic reading to all pro se pleadings of record. Szemraj v. Principi, 357 F.3d 1370, 1373. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for right leg sciatica A review of the Veteran's service treatment records (STR) show treatment for back pain arising from an April 1957 auto accident and December 1957 lifting incident. See June 2016 STR-Medical. The Veteran submitted a claim of service connection for right leg sciatica on January 26, 2016. In November 2020 the Board issued a remand, having found a VA examination was required. In March 2021 a VA examination was provided. There, the VA examiner diagnosed the Veteran with sciatica of the right lower leg. See #1 March 2021 C&P Exam, p. 2. The VA examiner further found that it was as likely as not that the Veteran's right leg sciatica was caused by an in-service injury. Specifically, the VA examiner stated "the sciatic symptoms in service are consistent with those seen on current exam. Right leg sciatica was present during the period of the appeal." The VA examiner wrote that the date of diagnosis was 1957 based only on the Veteran's reports. See #2 March 2021 C&P Exam, p. 2. A June 2011 imaging study showed spinal disc nerve impingement. In January 2012, a clinician noted the Veteran's report of pain in right lower in sciatic distribution with numbness of the right foot Generally, the effective date of an award of a claim is the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400. A review of the Veteran's medical records shows that the Veteran was diagnosed in June 2011 with "chronic right leg sciatica." See July 2016 CAPRI, p. 1. Furthermore, the March 2021 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's right leg sciatica began in April 1957. See #2 March 2021 C&P Exam, p. 2. Whichever of these dates is correct is moot, as the Veteran submitted a claim of service connection for right leg sciatica on January 27th, 2016. Regardless of whether the Veteran's right leg sciatica began in 1957, or was first diagnosed in June 2011, the Veteran's January 2016 claim of benefits is the later date. As per 38 U.S.C. § 5110 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.400, the proper effective date for the Veteran's right leg sciatica is January 27, 2016. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran initially submitted a claim of service connection for right leg sciatica in January 2016 and stated that he had right leg sciatica in his January 2017 notice of disagreement (NOD). However, the disability benefits questionnaire submitted by the Veteran stated that it was his left leg that was affected, as did the Veteran's testimony at his July 2020 hearing before the Board. In November 2020 the Board issued a remand order, in which the Veteran's claim was accepted as being for bilateral lower extremity sciatica. A VA examination and nexus opinion was ordered for both right and left leg sciatica. As per Board remand directives, a VA examination was provided in March 2021 in which a nexus opinion was made. However, the subsequent March 2021 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) only adjudicated based on the Veteran's right leg sciatica. As the Veteran was not provided a SSOC regarding his left leg sciatica, the requirements of the remand were not ultimately accomplished, and the prior remand instructions were not substantially complied with. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: Re-adjudicate the claim. If the benefit remains denied, provide the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board. J.W. FRANCIS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board P. Abels, 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.