Citation Nr: 1004883	
Decision Date: 02/02/10    Archive Date: 02/18/10

DOCKET NO.  03-00 151A	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in New York, 
New York



THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for 
schizophrenia, paranoid type, prior to March 28, 2003.



REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Virginia A. Girard-Brady, 
Attorney



ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Jennifer R. White, Associate Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The appellant had active service from February 1992 to March 
1995.

This matter initially came before the Board of Veterans' 
Appeals (Board) from a rating decision of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in New York, New 
York (via Huntington RO Satellite Rating Activity), which 
granted service connection for schizophrenia and assigned a 
10 percent rating effective the May 11, 2000 date of the 
claim.  In her December 2001 notice of disagreement (NOD), 
the appellant disagreed with both the rating assigned and the 
effective date of the claim.  The RO subsequently increased 
the rating to 30 then 50 percent in the November 2002 
statement of the case (SOC) and May 2004 supplemental SOC 
(SSOC), with both increases effective the date of the claim.  

In December 2004, the Board granted an earlier effective date 
of July 27, 1999, the effective date the appellant had 
requested, but Board denied the claim for an initial rating 
higher than 50 percent.  In an April 2006 Order, the United 
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the Court) 
vacated and remanded that part of the Board's decision that 
denied an effective date earlier than July 27, 1999 and that 
denied an initial rating higher than 50 percent for 
schizophrenia, pursuant to an April 2006 joint motion.  In 
October 2006, the Board denied the Veteran's claim for an 
initial rating higher than 50 percent for schizophrenia, 
paranoid type, prior to March 28, 2003, among other things.  
This issue was subject to a Joint Remand with a subsequent 
Court Order dated May 2008.

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO.  VA will notify the Veteran 
if further action is required.


REMAND

The Veteran, through her representative, revealed that the 
Veteran received Social Security disability income from the 
Social Security Administration (SSA) and that the records 
from that award should be obtained.  It is suggested that 
those records may be probative as to the issue on file.  
Records from that agency should be obtained.  Murincsak v. 
Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 363 (1992).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following actions:

1. Obtain from the Social Security 
Administration the records pertinent to the 
Veteran's claim for Social Security 
disability benefits as well as the medical 
records relied upon concerning that claim.

2.  After the above is complete, 
readjudicate the Veteran's claim at issue.  
Review should include consideration and 
review of any pertinent evidence added to 
the record since the 2006 Board decision 
on this issue.  If the claim on appeal 
remains denied, issue a supplemental 
statement of the case to the Veteran and 
her representative, and they should be 
given an opportunity to respond, before 
the case is returned to the Board. 

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. 2009).


_________________________________________________
MICHAEL D. LYON 
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) (2009).