Citation Nr: 1014282 Decision Date: 04/15/10 Archive Date: 04/29/10 DOCKET NO. 05-23 138 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Oakland, California THE ISSUE Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Siobhan Brogdon, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1975 to April 1977. This appeal comes before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) from an October 2004 rating decision of the VA Regional Office in Oakland, California that declined to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia Following review of the record, 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 Review of the evidence indicates that the Veteran has a long history of psychiatric hospitalization dating back to the late 1970s. An Authorization and Consent to Release Information to VA dated in March 2007 establishes a time line of those admissions beginning with Yonkers Professional Hospital, St. John's Hospital, Westchester Medical Center and St. Vincent Hospital. The record reflects that each of the named providers has been contacted with varying success. The discharge summary from Westchester indicates that the appellant was admitted on February 2, 1979 as a transfer from St. John's. It was noted at that time that he would be followed at the Yonkers Mental Health Clinic after discharge. In a statement dated in May 2006 from a California Department of Mental Health social worker, it was reported that he was hospitalized at Yonkers Professional Hospital [now closed according to the Veteran] in 1978, and was later transferred to St. John's in Yonkers, New York. The RO requested records from St. John's Riverside Hospital from 1984, and a response was received in October 2007 that no record was found for the dates of service requested. It was advised that the requestor expand the date range or double-check dates of service with the patient. It was also noted that the Veteran had been seen at Dobbs Ferry Community Hospital and that a request should be forwarded to that facility. It does not appear that this was accomplished. The RO sent a request for records to Yonkers General Hospital with a reporting period from approximately March 1984. A response was received in April 2008 that the request could not be processed with information provided in the request. Subsequently received in April 2008 was a statement from a care provider for the Veteran with an address for the Yonkers Medical Hospital where the Veteran was reportedly admitted that was not previously of record. It was also related that the appellant had been admitted to the psychiatric wing at Saint Joseph Hospital for which an address was also provided. The Veteran wrote in June 2009 that he had his first break with reality while serving in the Navy in 1976 and was arrested by Italian authorities and imprisoned for four months for trespassing, possession of a concealed weapon, possession of hashish, and attempted theft and rape. He stated that he was submitting a copy of his P601-64 Record of Unauthorized Absence as new and material evidence toward his claim but this document was not received. Service treatment records refer to his being in prison. The Veteran also wrote at that time that he was resident at the Napa State Hospital and appeared to request that his psychiatrist and psychologist be contacted to explain his mental and psychological state. A statement in the record dated in June 2008 indicates that the appellant had been a resident at Napa State since March 1999. VA has a duty to assist the Veteran in the development of his claim, to include requesting and securing pertinent clinical records. In view of the above, the Board finds that further efforts should be expended to secure additional medical information. Accordingly, the case is remanded for the following actions: 1. Request the Veteran's service administrative and/or personnel records. 2. Contact the Yonkers Professional Hospital or Yonkers Medical Hospital at Two Park Avenue, Yonkers, New York, 10703 and request clinical records dating from 1978. 3. Contact the St. John's Riverside Hospital for clinical records dating from 1978. 4. Contact the Napa State Hospital for clinical records dating from 1999. 5. Obtain authorization to secure clinical records from the Yonkers Mental Health Clinic from 1978. 6. Obtain authorization to secure clinical records from the Dobbs Ferry Community Hospital from 1978. 7. Obtain authorization to secure clinical records from the Saint Joseph Hospital psychiatric wing at 127 Broadway, Yonkers, New York, 10701, from 1978. 8. Inform the Veteran that if wants his doctor to submit a statement; it is up to him to have the doctor submit the document/evidence. 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. 2009). _________________________________________________ H. N. SCHWARTZ 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).