Criswell v. Nicholson

James Criswell (plaintiff) served in the United States Army from 1944 to 1945 and suffered trench foot and cold-exposure injuries to his hands and feet. Around the time of his discharge, Criswell submitted a disability claim for the damage to his feet and was awarded a temporary disability rated at 50 percent. In 1947, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) terminated the temporary disability and awarded Criswell a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent for bilateral trench foot. The medical record at that time included a notation that Criswell also had residual cold-weather damage to his hands, but Criswell did not show any intent to receive a benefit for those injuries. In 1997, Criswell filed a claim for disability benefits for the injuries to his hands. In 1999, he was granted a service-connected disability for his hands with a combined 30 percent disability for both hands, which was later adjusted to 20 percent ratings for each hand, to be effective from 1997. Criswell appealed to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board), alleging that the benefits for his hands should have been effective from his original disability claim in 1945. The board upheld the VA’s decision, finding that Criswell had not filed a claim for hand injuries until 1997. Criswell appealed, arguing that he had reasonably raised the claim for all cold-related injuries in his 1945 claim for benefits and during the 1947 medical examinations.