## Facts

- Richard S. Brokowski served in the U.S. Navy from February 1965 to September 1969.
- In December 1976, he was hospitalized for right-foot and leg pain with burning and numbness; testing showed occlusion of the superficial femoral artery and impaired blood flow.
- A treating physician noted the pain might reflect a neurological problem in addition to vascular disease.
- In 1978, Brokowski filed a written VA compensation claim seeking service connection for depression and anxiety and also referencing “all disabilities of record.”
- In the early 1990s, Brokowski was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy and later pursued VA benefits related to that condition.
- VA ultimately awarded service connection for peripheral neuropathy and assigned an effective date of February 15, 1994, treated as the first recognized claim for that disability.
- Brokowski sought an earlier effective date, arguing his 1978 submission and the existing medical evidence reasonably raised a claim for peripheral neuropathy.

## Issues

1. Whether Brokowski’s pre-1994 filings and evidence constituted an informal claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy before February 15, 1994.
2. What a claimant must provide to “identify the benefit sought” for an informal claim under 38 C.F.R. § 3.155 (pre-2015), including whether a specific medical diagnosis is required.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision denying an effective date earlier than February 15, 1994, for service connection for peripheral neuropathy.
- The court held that a claim (formal or informal) must be in writing, show intent to apply for benefits, and identify the benefit sought.
- The court clarified that identification may be satisfied by naming a body part or body system, or by describing symptoms, and need not use a precise medical diagnosis.
- The court concluded that, on this record, the 1978 filing and contemporaneous materials did not show intent to seek service connection for peripheral neuropathy before February 15, 1994.

## Legal Principles

- A valid VA claim (formal or informal) requires: (1) a writing, (2) intent to apply for benefits, and (3) identification of the benefit sought.
- A claimant may identify the benefit sought by referring to a disabled body part or body system or by describing symptoms; technical diagnostic terms are not required.
- VA must sympathetically read a claimant’s submissions to identify potential claims reasonably raised, but it need not create claims not raised by the claimant.
- The existence of medical evidence of a condition, without an expression of intent to seek benefits for that condition, does not establish an informal claim or support an earlier effective date.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the February 15, 1994 effective date because the record before that date lacked a written indication that the veteran intended to seek benefits for peripheral neuropathy, even though a later diagnosis and earlier medical references existed; it also confirmed that claim identification can be symptom- or body-system-based, but intent remains required.


Brokowski v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 79 (2009)