Citation Nr: 1014153 Decision Date: 04/14/10 Archive Date: 04/29/10 DOCKET NO. 08-01 509 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Roanoke, Virginia THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD G. Slovick, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The appellant served on active duty from April 1965 to March 1968. He was given a dishonorable discharge following his term of service between May 1980 to December 1986. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2007 rating decision by the Roanoke, Virginia, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND In a facsimile received at the Board in January 2010, the appellant requested a Decision Review Officer hearing regarding the issue reflected on the title page of this decision. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.2600 (2009), a request for a review by a Decision Review Officer must be submitted within 60 days after he was provided notice of the August 2007 decision. Hence, his request for review by a Decision Review Officer is not timely and must be denied. Nonetheless, since a claimant has the right to request a hearing at the RO by other personnel, the Board will remand the case to allow that hearing to be held. 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(a) (2009). Further, as the last available treatment records for the appellant are dated in June 2007, after he has signed the appropriate releases, the RO should obtain any and all additional treatment records for an acquired psychiatric disorder. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. The record reveals that the appellant receives Social Security disability benefits in part due to diabetes. There is no evidence, however, that he is receiving Social Security benefits due to an acquired psychiatric disorder. Unless the claimant presents evidence that his Social Security benefits are due to an acquired psychiatric disorder, the Board finds no basis to request them. Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317, 1321 (2010). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should take appropriate action to secure any records which have not been previously secured for inclusion in the claims file, to include mental health records from the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the Community Clinic in Alexandria, Virginia. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file. If the RO cannot locate such records, the RO must specifically document the attempts that were made to locate them, and explain in writing why further attempts to locate or obtain any government records would be futile. The RO must then: (a) notify the claimant of the specific records that it is unable to obtain; (b) explain the efforts VA has made to obtain that evidence; and (c) describe any further action it will take with respect to the claim. The claimant must then be given an opportunity to respond. 2. If, and only if, the appellant presents evidence that his Social Security benefits are due to an acquired psychiatric disorder, the RO should contact Social Security Administration and request copies of all records used in determining the appellant's entitlement to disability benefits. If the RO cannot locate such records, the RO must specifically document what attempts were made to locate them, and explain in writing why further attempts to locate or obtain any government records would be futile. The RO must then: (a) notify the claimant of the specific records that it is unable to obtain; (b) explain the efforts VA has made to obtain that evidence; and (c) describe any further action it will take with respect to the claim. The claimant must then be given an opportunity to respond. 3. The RO should schedule the claimant for a hearing before RO personnel. The RO must provide him and his representative reasonable advance notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing. 4 After completing the requested actions, and any additional notification and/or development deemed warranted to include, if additional medical records are received, obtaining a supplemental medical opinion, if warranted, the RO should adjudicate the claim on appeal in light of all pertinent evidence and legal authority. 5. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the RO must furnish to the claimant and his representative an appropriate supplemental statement of the case that includes clear reasons and bases for all determinations, and afford them the appropriate time period for response before the claims file is returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. 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). _________________________________________________ DEREK R. BROWN 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).