Citation Nr: 1301414	
Decision Date: 01/14/13    Archive Date: 01/23/13

DOCKET NO.  07-06 183	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Jan Dils, Esq.


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

D. Van Wambeke, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1967 to July 1973.  

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2006 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which granted service connection for PTSD and assigned a 50 percent rating effective August 9, 2005.  The claim was remanded by the Board in November 2010 for additional development.  

The appeal is REMANDED to the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office.  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.


REMAND

Review of the Veteran's claim at this time would be premature.  The Veteran, through his attorney, has requested both a Decision Review Officer (DRO) hearing and a Board hearing at a local VA office.  See March 2012 VA Form 9.  To ensure full compliance with due process requirements, a remand is required to schedule the Veteran for the requested hearings.  Clarification as to which type of hearing he prefers should be obtained first.  

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

Ask the Veteran to clarify what type of hearing he wants (DRO or Board) and schedule the Veteran for the requested hearing at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, RO, in accordance with applicable law.  A copy of the notice scheduling the hearing should be placed in the claims folder.

The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter 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 or by the U.S. 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. 2011).



_________________________________________________
KATHLEEN K. GALLAGHER 
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) (2012).