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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS
No. 19-0517
JOAN NAILOS, APPELLANT,
V.
DENIS MCDONOUGH,
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, APPELLEE.
On Appeal from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals
(Argued June 17, 2021 Decided August 10, 2021)
Christopher F. Attig, of Little Rock, Arkansas, for the appellant.
Mark D. Vichich, with whom William A. Hudson, Jr., Principal Deputy General Counsel;
Mary Ann Flynn, Chief Counsel; and Sarah W. Fusina, Deputy Chief Counsel, all of Washington,
D.C., were on the brief for the appellee.
Before GREENBERG, MEREDITH, and TOTH, Judges.
MEREDITH, Judge, filed the opinion of the Court. GREENBERG, Judge, filed a
dissenting opinion.
MEREDITH, Judge: The appellant, Joan Nailos, surviving spouse of the veteran,
William F. Nailos, appeals through counsel1 an October 22, 2018, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
(Board) decision that denied an effective date prior to May 30, 2017, for the award of aid and
attendance benefits. Record (R.) at 2-9.2 This appeal is timely, and the Court has jurisdiction to
review the Board’s decision pursuant to 38 U.S.C. §§ 7252(a) and 7266(a). This matter was
referred to a panel of the Court to determine under what circumstances 38 C.F.R. § 3.402(c)(1)
permits an effective date for the award of increased dependency and indemnity compensation
(DIC) based on the need for aid and attendance earlier than the date of receipt of the claim for aid
1 The appellant was initially self-represented and filed an informal brief. However, after the Court requested
that the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program respond to whether representation could be secured, counsel entered
an appearance on behalf of the appellant, and the Court permitted both parties to submit substitute
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