Citation Nr: 1306391	
Decision Date: 02/25/13    Archive Date: 03/01/13

DOCKET NO.  11-32 523	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disability.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability.

3.  Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability.

4.  Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability.

5.  Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability.

6.  Entitlement to service connection for a right Achilles tendon disability.

7.  Entitlement to service connection for a right foot disability.

8.  Entitlement to a rating higher than 10 percent for residuals of a fracture to the second and fourth toes of the left foot (a "left foot disability"). 


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

D. Schechner, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1950 to August 1953.

These matters come to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2011 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  A notice of disagreement was received in August 2011, a statement of the case was issued in November 2011, and a substantive appeal was received in December 2011.

The issues of service connection for bilateral hip disability and bilateral leg disability were raised by the Veteran in a March 2012 statement, but have not been adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  Therefore, the Board does not have jurisdiction over them, and they are referred to the AOJ for appropriate action.  

Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012).  38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002).

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

Regarding all of the matters on appeal, the statement of the case was issued in November 2011.  Since then, a large amount of evidence has been received.  The newly received evidence includes several medical nexus opinions from various physicians, as well as a voluminous amount of VA treatment records from 1986 through June 2012.  As the November 2011 statement of the case indicates only that VA outpatient records from April 2010 to June 2011 were reviewed, it would appear that the RO did not review the remainder of the VA treatment records (estimated to total over 1000 pages) at that time.  A review of the claims file (including Virtual VA) reveals that no supplemental statement of the case was issued, indicating that these records have not been considered by the RO.  Accordingly, the matters must be remanded for RO review of the new submissions.  See Disabled American Veterans, et al. v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 327 F.3d 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2003).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

(Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012).  Expedited handling is requested.)

1.  The RO should review the claims file (to specifically include consideration of the additional evidence received since the November 2011 statement of the case), and undertake any further development of the remaining claims on appeal that may be indicated by the additional evidence received, including affording the Veteran new VA examinations or medical opinions as necessary.

2.  The RO should then readjudicate the matters remaining on appeal.  If any claim remains denied, the RO should issue an appropriate supplemental statement of the case and afford the Veteran and his representative the opportunity to respond.  The case should then be returned to the Board, if in order, for further review.

The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

These claims 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. 2012).



_________________________________________________
ALAN S. PEEVY
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).