Opinion ID: 3192127
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prior Regulation

Text: Veterans are entitled to compensation “[f]or disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty . . . during a period of war.” 38 U.S.C. § 1110 (1998). For veterans to receive compensation under the laws administered by the VA, “[a] specific claim in the form prescribed by the Secretary . . . must be filed.” Id. § 5101(a)(1). The VA’s prior regulation implemented this authority by providing that “[a]ny communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for . . . benefits[,] . . . may be considered an informal claim.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.155(a) (2014) (emphasis added) (“Prior Regulation”). 2 The Final Rule took effect on March 24, 2015. See Final Rule, 79 Fed. Reg. at 57,660. VETERANS JUSTICE GRP., LLC v. SEC’Y OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 5 Under the Prior Regulation, a veteran could establish a claim’s effective date (i.e., when the claimant begins to receive compensation) by filing an informal claim, so long as a formal application was received by the VA “within [one] year from the date [the formal application form] was sent to the claimant.” Id.
If a claimant perfected an informal claim by filing a formal application within the one-year time period, a VA Agency of Original Jurisdiction, typically a VA regional office (“RO”), considered the claim, gave notice to the claimant of its decision, and informed the claimant of his or her right to appeal. See 38 U.S.C. § 5104 (1998); 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(b)(1) (2014). An appeal could be initiated by filing a Notice of Disagreement (“NOD”), see 38 U.S.C. § 7105(a) (1998), and unless the requested benefit was granted or the NOD withdrawn, the VA would issue a “statement of the case” (“SOC”) summarizing the reasons for the VA’s decision on each issue, id. § 7105(d)(1). Following issuance of the SOC, the “claimant [would] be afforded a period of sixty days from the date of the [SOC] to file a formal appeal” with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (“Veterans Board”). Id. § 7105(d)(3). The statute provides that the “appeal should set out specific allegations of error of fact or law, such allegations related to specific items in the [SOC].” Id. The NOD is required to be: (1) filed within one year of the mailing of notice of the RO’s decision; and (2) in writing. Id. § 7105(b)(1). In addition to these statutory requirements, the VA required an NOD to “be in terms which [could] be reasonably construed as disagreement with [the RO’s decision] and a desire for appellate review,” although “special wording [was] not required.” 38 C.F.R. § 20.201 (2014). However, if the RO’s notice of decision decided multiple issues, under the Prior Regula- 6 VETERANS JUSTICE GRP., LLC v. SEC’Y OF VETERANS AFFAIRS tion the claimant was required to specify which agency determinations he or she sought to appeal. Id.