Citation Nr: 1323000	
Decision Date: 07/18/13    Archive Date: 07/24/13

DOCKET NO.  09-40 372	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for impotence, claimed as a prostate disorder.

2.  Entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU).


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	National Association for Black Veterans, Inc.


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Veteran




ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

S. M. Kreitlow


INTRODUCTION

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  A June 2009 rating decision denied service connection for impotence, claimed as a prostate disorder, and entitlement to a TDIU.  When this case was previously before the Board in December 2012, these issues were remanded for additional development of the record.

In its October 2011 determination, the Board found new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen claims for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and for hand tremors.  Additional development was requested regarding the claims on the merits.  By rating action dated November 2012, the RO granted service connection for PTSD and for impairment of the left ulnar nerve.  In addition, in its December 2012 determination, the Board denied service connection for hypertension.  Thus, this decision is limited to the issues set forth on the preceding page.

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


REMAND

The Board finds that remand of the Veteran's claims is necessary to comply with due process requirements.

It appears that, since the Board's October 2011 remand, all of the mailings sent to the Veteran's representative by the AMC have been returned as undeliverable.  The Board notes that the AMC has been sending these documents to a Washington, DC address.  The Board notes, however, that a VA print out in the claims file along with the Veteran's VA Form 21-22 appointing the National Association of Black Veterans, Inc, as his representative, the Board's records, and the representative's website, show that this organization's actual address is P.O. Box 11432, Milwaukee, WI 53211-0432.  There is no indication in the claims file or on the representative's website that this organization has a Washington, DC address where mail should be sent relating to a veteran's claim.

Consequently, as the Veteran's representative has not received adequate notice of the proceedings relating to the Veteran's claims since the October 2011 remand, remand is necessary to cure this due process deficiency.

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Send all documents previously mailed to the Veteran's representative, the National Association for Black Veterans Inc., that have been returned as undeliverable since the October 2011 Board remand, to its Milwaukee, WI address.

2.  An appropriate period of time should be allowed for a response from the Veteran's representative.  If any new information or evidence is submitted, all necessary development should be accomplished and the claims should be readjudicated with appropriate notice to the Veteran and his representative (i.e., issuance of a Supplemental Statement of the Case).  If such action does not resolve the claims, they should be returned to this Board for further appellate review, if in order.  

The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

These claims 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).



_________________________________________________
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 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).