Citation Nr: 1318517	
Decision Date: 06/06/13    Archive Date: 06/11/13

DOCKET NO.  04-27 335	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Boston, Massachusetts


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dysthymic disorder.  



REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans



ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

A. Bordewyk, Associate Counsel




INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1974 to October 1976 and from October 2001 to October 2002, with service in the Air Force Reserve in between.  
This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2004 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which, in pertinent part, denied entitlement to service connection for PTSD.  

The claim was remanded by the Board in February 2007, April 2010, and July 2012 for additional development.  

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

In its April 2010 remand, the Board requested that a summary be prepared of the reported stressor involving a suicide of a major in late 1974 to early 1975 and be sent with the Veteran's service personnel records for verification of the alleged stressor.  

In September 2010, a request for information was sent to the Army Crime Records Center in an attempt to corroborate the stressor.  The letter, however, stated that the claim for compensation benefits was related to a personal assault and listed the Veteran as the victim.  This was noted by the Veteran's representative in a May 2012 brief.  

As the request was not entirely accurate and there is potential for confusion, the Board requests that a second attempt be made to corroborate the reported stressor.  

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  A new request must be sent to the Army Crime Records Center with the proper information, including that the name of the victim is unknown.  

2.  After completion of any additional indicated development, the AOJ should review the record in light of the new evidence obtained.  If any benefit remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case.  Once they are afforded an opportunity to respond, the claim should be returned to the Board for appellate review.

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 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).



_________________________________________________
JAMES L. MARCH
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).