Citation Nr: 1306500 Decision Date: 02/26/13 Archive Date: 04/10/13 DOCKET NO. 07-25 832 ) DATE FEB 26 2013 On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in New Orleans, Louisiana THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension (HTN). 2. Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a stroke, to include as secondary to HTN. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. Hal Smith, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1984 to January 1987. These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2006 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas. The case is currently under the jurisdiction of the RO in New Orleans, Louisiana. A Board videoconference hearing was held in November 2012 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge, sitting in Washington, D.C. A copy of the transcript of that hearing is of record. The Veteran indicated that there were additional private treatment records and medical opinion that he wanted to submit. The record was held open for a period of 60 days to afford him an opportunity to submit these records. However, no additional evidence was submitted, and the claim was forwarded to the Board for further appellate consideration. The following determination is based on review of the Veteran's claims file in additional to his Virtual VA "efolder." 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 The Board observes that not all of the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) are associated with the claims file. There is an April 2008 memorandum regarding a formal finding on the unavailability of some STRs. The memorandum points out -2- that a December 2005 request was made to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) for STRs. In January 2006, incomplete STRs were received. It was also noted that in December 2007, another request was made to NPRC and also to Records Management Center (RMC) for STRs. The Veteran was also requested to send copies in his possession. In a January 2008 response from NPRC a medical examination was received. About a week later, a negative response was received from RMC. In February 2008, the Veteran was sent an alternate source letter requesting that he furnish additional documents in his possession. No response was received At the November 2012 videoconference hearing, the Veteran testified that he had been treated on an ongoing basis for high blood pressure at Fort Carson, Colorado, in 1985. As discussed above, the Board acknowledges multiple attempts have been made to retrieve the Veteran's STRs, however it appears the RO did not specifically request clinical records from the US Army Hospital in Fort Carson, where the Veteran alleges he was treated. Given that hospitalization or clinical medical records are sometimes filed under the name of the facility, and not the name of the veteran, the Board observes there is a chance that records related to the Veteran's treatment for HTN are still available at the NPRC, under a listing for the hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado. As such, on remand, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) should further request from either the NPRC or another appropriate source, records related to the Veteran's treatment at the hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should contact NPRC and specifically request a search for any STRs pertaining to the Veteran for the period from January 1984 through January 1987 at the US Army Hospital in Fort Carson, Colorado. Should the response from NPRC suggest any other avenues or -3- sources for locating such records, then appropriate follow-up action should be accomplished. It should be noted that the Veteran's clinical records may be filed at the NPRC under the name of the facility and not the Veteran. If no records are available, this should be indicated in written response to the request. Efforts to obtain the foregoing records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The nonexistence or unavailability of such records must be verified by each Federal department or agency from whom they are sought and this should be documented for the record. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(b) (West 2002 & Supp. 2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2) (2012). 2. Additionally, the Veteran should again be notified that he may submit other competent evidence to include lay statements and additional medical opinion to support his claims. 3. After completing all indicated development, the RO should readjudicate the claims based on all the evidence of record. If any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a fully responsive Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), afforded a reasonable opportunity for response, and the case should thereafter be 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). -4- 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. 2012). Michael J. Skaltsounis Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002 & Supp. 2011), 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). -5-