Summary
This Federal Circuit opinion addresses whether a claimant is entitled to an earlier effective date for service-connected veterans benefits when the Department of Veterans Affairs fails to timely assess whether submitted evidence meets the "new and material" standard under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b). The court reviews the Veterans Court's affirmation of the Board of Veterans' Appeals' denial of an earlier effective date. Applying precedent from Bond and Beraud, the court holds that a claim remains open solely to require a responsive VA determination, and does not automatically entitle a claimant to the prior application date unless the evidence is ultimately deemed new and material. The court affirms the lower court's decision.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b) requires the VA to apply the earlier claim’s date of application as the effective date when the VA has not yet made a determination on new and material evidence
- Whether the Veterans Court erred in its interpretation of § 3.156(b]
Holdings
- The regulation does not require the VA to grant an earlier effective date; the claim remains open only for the limited purpose of requiring a responsive determination on new and material evidence.
Factual background
Mrs. Deal served in the Navy and Army, filed a 1991 claim for Cushing’s syndrome, which was denied. She later filed claims in 1995 and 2003, the latter resulting in a 2016 Board decision granting service connection for a psychiatric disorder with an effective date of August 1, 2003. The issue centered on whether a 1993 medical record should be treated as new and material evidence under § 3.156(b) for her 1991 claim.
Procedural history
The Board of Veterans' Appeals granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder with an effective date of March 10, 1995. The Veterans Court affirmed that decision, rejecting the appellant's alternative argument concerning an earlier effective date under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(b). The Federal Circuit reviewed the Veterans Court's interpretation of the regulation.