United States Federal Circuit

Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims affirming a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals denial of claimant's petition for an earlier effective date for an increased rating for his service-connected granuloma of the left lung and total disability based on individual unemployability is affirmed where: 1) the implicit denial rule may be applied to terminate the pending status of both formal and informal claims; and 2) because claimant's earlier informal claims were identical to his later claim, the VA's denial of his later claim was sufficient to notify him that his earlier informal claims were also denied.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/06/2010
• Published 08/06/2010

Judges

• DYK

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Martin F. Hockey, Kenneth M. Carpenter