Citation Nr: 0811819 Decision Date: 04/10/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08 DOCKET NO. 04-24 979 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco, Texas THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 2. Entitlement to service connection for allergies. 3. Entitlement to service connection for ulcers. 4. Entitlement to service connection for a back condition. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Texas Veterans Commission ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. Stephen Eckerman, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from October 1967 to October 1970. The veteran's appeal as to the issues listed above arose from an April 2004 decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND A review of the veteran's substantive appeal, received in July 2004, shows that he requested a hearing before a Member of the Board (i.e., Veterans Law Judge) at the RO. In December 2007, the RO sent the veteran notice that a hearing was scheduled on February 4, 2008. The veteran failed to appear for his scheduled hearing. In a statement from a social worker, received on April 7, 2008, the social worker stated that she was writing on behalf of the veteran, that he missed his hearing because he was admitted to a hospital for emergent treatment on February 3, 2008, that he was unresponsive at that time, and that the veteran desired that his hearing be rescheduled. This statement meets the high standards the VA has for rescheduling a hearing when a veteran fails to attend, without notice. Therefore, a remand is required to schedule the appellant for a hearing. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.700 (2007). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the appellant for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO in the order that the request was received. The appellant 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). _________________________________________________ JOHN J. CROWLEY 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).