no jurisdiction over an appeal on a rating decision made by the DRO him/herself. The DRO must review the record to ensure that any issues that Important: are inextricably intertwined with the issue(s) on appeal are addressed. For more information on the definition of inextricably Reference: intertwined, see M21-1, Part I, 5.A.1.g. b. DRO When a DRO issues a favorable decision on an appealed issue, the DRO Jurisdiction assumes jurisdiction over and decides any downstream issues, including Over Downstream disability evaluation Issues effective date, and any inferred or ancillary issues that are encompassed by that favorable decision. The review of a downstream issue must be conducted by Important: de novo a DRO who render the initial decision on the downstream issue. did not For more information on References: the definition of downstream issues, see M21-1, Part I, 5.A.1.f when a decision on a downstream issue confers new appeal rights, see Part I, 5.C.3.c considering subordinate or ancillary issues, see M21-1, Part III, Subpart iv, 6.B.2 ancillary benefits, see M21-1, Part IX, Subpart i handling new issues raised on a substantive appeal, see M21-1, Part I, 5.E.3, and review of benefit claims decisions, see . c. When a Use the table below to determine whether a decision made on a downstream Decision on a issue confers new appeal rights. Downstream Issue Confers New Appeal Rights If the appeal is Then for… And… service connection (SC) the DRO renders a full the grant of SC for a disability grant satisfies the underlying appeal action, and When the Note: the evaluation and underlying appeal effective date are action is contesting separately appealable SC, there are no issues. partial grants.
no jurisdiction over an appeal on a rating decision made by the DRO him/herself. Important: The DRO must review the record to ensure that any issues that are inextricably intertwined with the issue(s) on appeal are addressed. Reference: For more information on the definition of inextricably intertwined, see M21-1, Part I, 5.A.1.g. b. DRO Jurisdiction Over Downstream Issues When a DRO issues a favorable decision on an appealed issue, the DRO assumes jurisdiction over and decides any downstream issues, including disability evaluation effective date, and any inferred or ancillary issues that are encompassed by that favorable decision. Important: The de novo review of a downstream issue must be conducted by a DRO who did not render the initial decision on the downstream issue. References: For more information on the definition of downstream issues, see M21-1, Part I, 5.A.1.f when a decision on a downstream issue confers new appeal rights, see Part I, 5.C.3.c considering subordinate or ancillary issues, see M21-1, Part III, Subpart iv, 6.B.2 ancillary benefits, see M21-1, Part IX, Subpart i handling new issues raised on a substantive appeal, see M21-1, Part I, 5.E.3, and review of benefit claims decisions, see . c. When a Decision on a Downstream Issue Confers New Appeal Rights Use the table below to determine whether a decision made on a downstream issue confers new appeal rights. If the appeal is for… And… Then service connection (SC) for a disability the DRO renders a full grant Note: When the underlying appeal action is contesting SC, there are no partial grants. the grant of SC satisfies the underlying appeal action, and the evaluation and effective date are separately appealable issues.
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