Citation Nr: 1321450 Decision Date: 07/03/13 Archive Date: 07/12/13 DOCKET NO. 08-00 579 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected left knee degenerative joint disease and scar of the left shin. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD H. Seesel, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran had active service from September 1965 to September 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA or Board) on appeal from a July 2006 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Togus, Maine. The Veteran subsequently moved to the jurisdiction of the Atlanta, Georgia RO. The Board previously considered the appeal in April 2011 and remanded the case for additional development. The RO/Appeals Management Center (AMC) completed all requested development, but continued the denial of the benefits sought. After the issuance of the October 2012 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), additional VA outpatient treatment records were associated with the claims file in June 2013. However, the Veteran's representative waived the RO's initial consideration of such evidence in a June 2013 brief. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304(c). As the Board previously noted in the April 2011 remand, the Veteran filed a claim for a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) that had not yet been adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A review of the record reflects this claim is still pending, and therefore, the Board again REFERS it for appropriate action. Additionally, in August 2011, the Veteran appeared to raise a claim for his left hip. In February 2013, he also raised claims for increased evaluations for the scar on his left shin, PTSD, and left knee disability and for service connection for tinnitus, memory loss, and sleeping difficulty, including nightmares and flashbacks. In addition, an August 2011 application for benefits appears to raise a claim for pension, as the Veteran completed the relevant portions for a pension claim. However, these claims have not been adjudicated by the AOJ. Therefore, the Board does not have jurisdiction over them, and they are REFERRED to the AOJ for appropriate action. The appeal is being remanded to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC). VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required on her part. REMAND A preliminary review of the record discloses that further development is necessary. Specifically, the duty to assist has not been satisfied. VA outpatient treatment records reflect the Veteran is in receipt of Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits. VA's duty to assist extends to obtaining records from SSA. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A, 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). In particular, a July 2011 VA outpatient treatment record noted that the Veteran started receiving benefits at age 63. This record also noted that he retired from being a truck driver the prior year (when the Veteran would have been 65 or 66). This suggests that the Veteran began receiving benefits based upon disability rather than age. See 42 U.S.C.A. § 306 (noting that "old age assistance" means money payments to needy individuals who are 65 years of age or older); Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (VA is required to obtain SSA records when they may be relevant to the claim). Therefore, a search for the complete file from the SSA should be undertaken. Additionally, the record reflects the Veteran receives treatment at VA facilities. A review of VA outpatient treatment records uploaded to Virtual VA also reflects that some documents were scanned into VISTA. However, these VISTA records have not been associated with the claims file. Therefore, on remand, updated treatment records, including any records scanned into VISTA, should be obtained and associated with the record. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(c)(3) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (2012). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO/AMC should obtain a copy of any decision to grant SSA benefits to the Veteran and the records upon which that decision was based and associate them with the claims file. If the search for such records has negative results, the claims file must be properly documented as to the unavailability of those records and proper notification under 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e) should be provided to the Veteran. 2. The RO/AMC should obtain updated VA treatment records dated since May 2013. In so doing, the RO/AMC should ensure that all records scanned to VISTA are associated with the claims file. If any requested records are not available, that fact should clearly be documented in the claims file and proper notification under 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e) should be provided to the Veteran. 3. The RO/AMC shall then take any additional development action that it deems proper with respect to the claim. 4. When the development requested has been completed, the case should again be reviewed by the RO/AMC on the basis of the additional evidence and readjudicated. If the benefits sought are not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished a Supplemental Statement of the Case and be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further 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 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). ______________________________________________ JESSICA J. WILLS 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).