Citation Nr: 1320422	
Decision Date: 06/25/13    Archive Date: 07/05/13

DOCKET NO.  11-11 661	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in San Juan, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depressive disorder, not otherwise specified, to include as secondary to bilateral hearing loss and/or tinnitus.


REPRESENTATION

The Veteran is represented by:   The American Legion


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

S. Pflugner, Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1978 to October 1984.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2010 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in San Juan, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (RO).

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center in Washington, DC.  VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required.


REMAND

In his April 2011 substantive appeal regarding the above-captioned claim, the Veteran expressed a desire to have a hearing in front of a member of the Board at the RO.  In an October 2011 statement, the Veteran appeared to indicate that he wished to withdraw his request for a Board hearing.  The Veteran submitted a form that was received by VA in May 2012, wherein he indicated that he wanted to participate in a videoconference hearing with a member of the Board.

Based on the conflicting evidence of record, clarification was sought from the Veteran's representative in February 2013, as to whether the Veteran continued to desire a Board hearing and, if so, which type of Board hearing.  

In a June 2013 response, the Veteran's representative submitted a brief wherein it was stated that the Veteran wished to have a Board hearing to be held at the RO.

The Board finds that the Veteran is entitled to a Board hearing and, thus, remanding the above-captioned claim to the RO is required in order to afford the Veteran the opportunity to present testimony at a Board hearing.  See 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.700, 20.702, 20.703, 20.704, 20.705 (2012).


Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

The RO must schedule the Veteran for a Board hearing at the RO, to be held at the earliest opportunity available.  The RO must notify the Veteran of the date, time, and location of the hearing, and put a copy of this notification in the Veteran's claims file.  Once he has been afforded the requested Board hearing, or in the event that he withdraws his hearing request or fails to appear, the file must be returned to the Board for appellate review.

The Veteran 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 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).



_________________________________________________
U. R. POWELL
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).