Citation Nr: 0811647 Decision Date: 04/09/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08 DOCKET NO. 05-05 939 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in New Orleans, Louisiana THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. N. Hyland, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active duty from February 1964 to February 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2004 rating decision by a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The veteran failed to report for a Board videoconference hearing scheduled for him in December 2006. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the veteran if further action is required. REMAND The veteran's current treatment records show hypertension. An April 2004 VA medical note suggests that the veteran's hypertension is aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The October 2004 VA examination report of record does not address whether or not the veteran's service- connected diabetes mellitus aggravates the veteran's hypertension. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a), service connection may be granted for disability that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. That regulation permits service connection not only for disability caused by service- connected disability, but for the degree of disability resulting from aggravation to a nonservice- connected disability by a service-connected disability. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (2007). See also Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). The Board finds that a VA examination is necessary to determine if the veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus aggravates his hypertension. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO/AMC should arrange for a VA examination. The claims file must be made available for review in connection with the examination and the examiner must note in the examination report that he/she reviewed the claims file. After reviewing the claims file, examining the veteran, and conducting any necessary testing, the examiner should opine as to whether or not the veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus has caused or aggravated his hypertension. If the examiner finds that the veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus has aggravated, but not caused, the hypertension, the examiner must opine as to the level of aggravation of hypertension attributable to the veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus. If the examiner cannot provide any of the requested opinions without resorting to mere speculation, he or she should so state. 2. After completion of the above, and any additional development of the evidence that the agency of original jurisdiction may deem necessary, the AMC/RO should review the record, to include all evidence received since the December 2004 Statement of the Case, and readjudicate the claim. If any benefit sought remains denied, the veteran should be issued an appropriate supplemental statement of the case, and afforded the opportunity to respond. The case should then be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if otherwise in order. 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). _________________________________________________ VITO A. CLEMENTI 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).