Citation Nr: 1321920	
Decision Date: 07/09/13    Archive Date: 07/18/13

DOCKET NO.  07-30 940	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in New York, New York


THE ISSUE

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


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Disabled American Veterans


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. Riley, Counsel 


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1986 to April 1992. 

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2006 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which, in pertinent part, denied entitlement to service connection for PTSD.  

Jurisdiction over the claims file is currently held by the RO in New York, New York.  In June 2013, the Veteran notified VA that he had recently moved to Columbia, South Carolina and requested that VA transfer jurisdiction over his appeal to the Columbia RO.  

In August 2010, the Board remanded the case for further action by the originating agency.  The case has now returned to the Board for further appellate action.

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 regrets further delay in this case, but finds that a remand is necessary to ensure the Veteran is provided an opportunity to present testimony before the Board in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 20.700(a) (2012).  On the September 2007 substantive appeal, the Veteran requested to appear at a hearing before the Board at its Central Office in Washington, D.C.  The hearing was scheduled for August 3, 2009, but the Veteran failed to appear.  In September 2009, the Veteran's representative filed a motion to reschedule the missed hearing since the Veteran had been incarcerated and unable to attend.  The representative also requested a videoconference or Travel Board hearing in lieu of the previous Central Office hearing.  The Board granted the motion and remanded the claim for the scheduling of a new hearing in August 2010. 

A videoconference hearing was scheduled at the Albany, New York RO on June 12, 2013.  The day of the hearing, the Veteran notified VA that he had moved to Columbia, South Carolina and requested that his videoconference hearing be rescheduled at the Columbia RO.  Therefore, the claim must be remanded to allow for the scheduling of a videoconference hearing at the Columbia RO.  38 C.F.R. § 20.704(c).  

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the appellant for a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the Columbia RO regarding the claim for entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD.  

The appellant 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 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).



_________________________________________________
MILO H. HAWLEY
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).