Citation Nr: 0810636 Decision Date: 04/01/08 Archive Date: 04/14/08 DOCKET NO. 00-13 185 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Newark, New Jersey THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a claimed bipolar disorder with psychotic features. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD G. Jackson, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from October 1975 to March 1977. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 1999 rating decision by the RO. The veteran requested a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at the RO in his June 2000 Substantive Appeal. He withdrew his request in March 2001. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(e) (2007). Subsequently, he was re-scheduled for a hearing before a VLJ at the RO in January 2007, but failed to report for that hearing and provided no explanation for this. Consequently, his hearing request is deemed to have been withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(d) (2007). The appeal is being remanded to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the veteran if further action is required. REMAND A February 1977 service treatment record indicated that the veteran was seen in the mental hygiene clinic in January and February 1977. The Board is aware that the RO attempted to obtain these records but was informed in April 2006 that Army regulations require a signed authorization from the veteran before medical information could be released. The RO attempted to obtain the necessary authorization from the veteran in June 2006. However, the veteran did not respond. The RO should make another attempt to secure the necessary authorization from the veteran so that the relevant service medical records can be obtained. The duty to assist is not always a one-way street. A veteran seeking help cannot passively wait for it in those circumstances where he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining putative evidence. See Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 190, 193 (1991). If the veteran fails to cooperate with the VA's efforts to assist him by not providing the necessary authorization, no further effort will be expended to assist the veteran in this regard and the claim will be evaluated on the evidence of record. After attempting to obtain the identified service treatment records and any other outstanding medical evidence, the veteran should be scheduled for another VA examination to ascertain the nature and likely etiology of the claimed bipolar disorder. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED the RO for the following action: 1. The RO should take appropriate steps to contact the veteran in order to have him provide information referable to all treatment received for the claimed bipolar disorder. Specifically, the RO should request that the veteran provide the authorization necessary to secure the relevant service treatment records. Based on the response, the RO should undertake all indicated action to obtain copies of all clinical records from any identified treatment source. The veteran should also be informed that he can submit evidence to support his claim. If the RO is unable to secure from the veteran the authorization necessary to obtain the relevant service treatment records, documentation to that effect should be added to the claims file. 2. After all available records and/or responses are associated with the claims file, the RO should arrange for the veteran to undergo a VA examination to determine the nature and likely etiology of the claimed psychiatric disorder. The veteran's claims file must be made available to the examiner for review in conjunction with the evaluation. All studies deemed necessary must be performed. Based on a review of the entire claims file and the clinical findings of the examination, the examiner should opine as to whether the veteran has current bipolar disorder that at least as likely as not (e.g., a 50 percent or greater likelihood) had its clinical onset during his period of active service. A complete rationale must be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed in a typewritten report. 3. After completion of the above development, the veteran's claim of service connection for bipolar disorder should be readjudicated in light of all the evidence. If the determination remains adverse to the veteran, he and his representative should be furnished with a Supplemental Statement of the Case and given an opportunity to respond thereto. Thereafter if indicated, this case should be returned to the Board for the purpose of appellate disposition. The veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2007). _________________________________________________ STEPHEN L. WILKINS Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007).