Citation Nr: 1101523 Decision Date: 01/13/11 Archive Date: 01/20/11 DOCKET NO. 07-27 125 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Boston, Massachusetts THE ISSUE Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Connolly, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1968 to April 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2005 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Boston, Massachusetts, that denied the above claim. In September 2010, the Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Travel Board hearing. 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 Unfortunately, a remand is required in this case. Although the Board sincerely regrets the additional delay, it is necessary to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claim so that he is afforded every possible consideration. At his hearing, the Veteran testified that he is in receipt of benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA records are not in the claims file. VA has a statutory duty to obtain these records. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(b)(3); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) has also held that VA has a duty to acquire both the SSA decision and the supporting medical records pertinent to a claim. See Dixon v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 168, 171 (2000); Masors v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 181, 188 (1992). These records should be obtained on remand. See also Murincsak v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 363 (1992). Also, the Veteran's representative requested that the Veteran be afforded a VA examination to determine if he is unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities. The Board finds that he should be afforded this examination. Finally, the Veteran testified that he receives treatment at the Fitchburg and/or Bedford VA treatment facilities. Therefore, all current treatment records from these facilities should be obtained, as well as the Veteran's treatment records from Health Alliance, Burbank Campus. Accordingly, this matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Make arrangements to obtain the Veteran's complete treatment records from the Boston VA Healthcare System, to include the Bedford and Fitchburg facilities, dated from March 2006 forward. 2. Make arrangements to obtain the Veteran's complete treatment records from Health Alliance, Burbank Campus. 3. Make arrangements to obtain from SSA a copy of their decision regarding the Veteran's claim for Social Security disability benefits, as well as the medical records relied upon in that decision. 4. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination. Any indicated tests should be accomplished. The examiner should review the claims folder in conjunction with the examination. The examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities (diabetes mellitus, Type II, with erectile dysfunction; PTSD with depression; bilateral neuro-sensori deafness; tinnitus; diabetic neuropathy of the left upper extremity; diabetic neuropathy of the right upper extremity; diabetic neuropathy of the left lower extremity; diabetic neuropathy of the right lower extremity; and a urinary tract disorder), either alone or in the aggregate, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. Consideration may be given to the Veteran's level of education, special training, and previous work experience in arriving at a conclusion, but not to his age or to the impairment caused by nonservice-connected disabilities. The examiner must provide a comprehensive report including complete rationales for all opinions and conclusions reached, citing the objective medical findings leading to the conclusions. 5. Review the medical opinion obtained above to ensure that the remand directives have been accomplished. If all questions posed are not answered or sufficiently answered, return the case to the examiner for completion of the inquiry. 6. Finally, readjudicate the claim on appeal in light of all of the evidence of record. If the claims is denied, the Veteran should be provided a supplemental statement of the case and afforded an appropriate period of time within which to respond thereto. 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 2002 & Supp. 2010). _________________________________________________ P. M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002 & Supp. 2009), 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) (2010).