Citation Nr: 1323814	
Decision Date: 07/25/13    Archive Date: 08/06/13

DOCKET NO.  09-36 266	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Chicago, Illinois


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury.


REPRESENTATION

The Veteran is represented by:  Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

S. Pflugner, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from November 2002 to March 2003 and from November 2004 to February 2006.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2008 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Chicago, Illinois (RO).

This case was remanded by the Board in May 2012 and March 2013 for additional development.  Subsequent to the completion of this development, the claim has been remitted to the Board for further appellate review.

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

While the Veteran's claim was in remand status, documentation associated with the Veteran's claims file demonstrated that the RO requested the Veteran's VA treatment reports from the Omaha and Iowa City VA Medical Centers, dated from March 1, 2012 to March 11, 2013.  In May 2013, the RO readjudicated the Veteran's claim, confirming and continuing the denial thereof.  The RO then issued a May 2013 supplemental statement of the case to the Veteran.  Therein, the RO indicated that the evidence of record included the Veteran's VA treatment reports, dated from March 2012 to March 2013.  The Veteran's claim was then returned to the Board.

As indicated above, the RO denied the Veteran's claim in May 2013, a readjudication that included consideration of the Veteran's VA treatment records dated from March 2012 to March 2013.  In reviewing the evidence of record, including the Veteran's Virtual VA claims file, the Board was unable to locate the Veteran's VA treatment reports dated after December 2012.  In other words, VA treatment records dated from December 2012 to March 2013 were not associated with the Veteran's electronic or paper claims file.  Consequently, a remand is necessary in order for these reports to be made available to the Board prior to adjudication of the Veteran's claim.

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Treatment reports from the Omaha and Iowa City VA Medical Centers, dated from December 2012 to March 2013, and any dated thereafter, must be added to the record.

2.  If any pertinent evidence is added to the record, the RO must readjudicate the claim.  If any benefit sought remains denied, a supplemental statement of the case must be provided to the Veteran and his representative.  After the Veteran and his representative have had an adequate opportunity to respond, the appeal must be returned to the Board for appellate review.

3.  NOTE:  If the RO requests the Veteran's VA treatment records using an expansive date range, the RO identification of the responsive records in the ensuing supplemental statement of the case should be limited to the dates of the records obtained, not reflective of the requested date range used to obtain those records.  For example, if the RO requests the Veteran's records dating from March 2012 to March 2013, but the responsive documents are only dated from March 2012 to January 2013, the identification of the obtained records in the supplemental statement of the case, in terms of the dates, should be March 2012 to January 2013, not March 2012 to March 2013.

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).