## Facts

- Richard E. Fleshman injured his back and right leg during active-duty service after a fall on May 24, 1986, and was honorably discharged on October 8, 1987.
- Shortly after discharge, he submitted a two-page VA application for compensation at separation, but left the second page blank.
- The incomplete submission omitted required information, including his signature (certification and medical-release authorization), mailing address, and date of execution.
- The VA regional office returned the form, marked the missing items, and requested completion and return “as soon as possible,” warning that if not returned within one year, benefits might not be payable earlier than the date of receipt of a completed claim.
- Fleshman did not return a completed form within one year.
- On January 30, 1992, he filed a new, completed application for the same back injury; the VA awarded benefits effective that date.
- Fleshman sought an earlier effective date based on the 1987 submission; the Board of Veterans’ Appeals and the Court of Veterans Appeals rejected the request, and he appealed to the Federal Circuit.

## Issues

1. Whether an unsigned, incomplete VA compensation application qualifies as a claim “in the form prescribed by the Secretary” under 38 U.S.C. § 5101(a) for effective-date purposes.
2. Whether the failure to timely return a completed form after the VA’s request permitted treating the 1987 submission as abandoned under 38 C.F.R. § 3.158(a).
3. Whether the 1987 submission could be treated as an informal claim capable of supporting, or relating back to, an effective date in 1987.

## Decision

- The Federal Circuit affirmed the judgment upholding the denial of an effective date earlier than January 30, 1992.
- The court held the 1987 submission was not “in the form prescribed by the Secretary” under 38 U.S.C. § 5101(a) because it lacked required elements including the claimant’s signature, address, and date.
- Because the 1987 submission was not a valid claim and was not timely completed after the VA’s request, it could not establish an earlier entitlement or effective date.

## Legal Principles

- Payment of veterans’ benefits requires a claim filed “in the form prescribed by the Secretary” under 38 U.S.C. § 5101(a); required form elements such as a signature and related identifying information are conditions to a valid claim.
- An unsigned and materially incomplete application does not satisfy § 5101(a) and cannot serve as the basis for assigning an earlier effective date.
- Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.158(a), when the VA requests needed information and it is not provided within one year, the claim may be treated as abandoned, preventing the earlier submission from remaining pending for effective-date purposes.
- A later, properly completed application generally establishes the effective date when the earlier submission never matured into a valid claim and was not timely cured.

## Conclusion

The Federal Circuit held that an unsigned, incomplete VA application is not a valid claim under 38 U.S.C. § 5101(a) and, when not timely corrected after the VA’s request, may be treated as abandoned under 38 C.F.R. § 3.158(a); therefore, Fleshman’s benefits could not be made effective earlier than the date of his later completed application.


Fleshman v. West, 138 F.3d 1429 (Fed. Cir. 1998)