Citation Nr: 1325301 Decision Date: 08/09/13 Archive Date: 08/13/13 DOCKET NO. 07-09 846 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Indianapolis, Indiana THE ISSUE Entitlement to compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for an additional disability due to treatment for coronary artery disease. WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Bordewyk, Alicia R. INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from May 1964 to May 1966. This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2006 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Indianapolis, Indiana, which, in pertinent part, denied the above claimed benefits. The Veteran provided testimony during a hearing before a Decision Review Officer (DRO) in November 2007. He provided testimony before the undersigned at a VA Central Office hearing in April 2013. Transcripts of both hearings are of record. The Board notes that, in addition to the paper claims file, there is a Virtual VA electronic claims file associated with the Veteran's claim. A review of the documents in the electronic file reveals that they are either duplicative of the evidence in the paper claims file or are irrelevant to the issue on appeal. The Board notes that the Veteran requested records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in March 2012, and his request was satisfied in April 2012. The only evidence added to the claims file since that time was the transcript of the April 2013 Board hearing. A copy of that hearing transcript was sent to the Veteran in June 2013. 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 Veteran testified during the April 2013 Board hearing that he had received treatment at a private Indiana community hospital, including on March 8, 2010. He reported during a January 2011 VA examination that he had received treatment at the Indiana Heart Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, on that date. There are no records from that private treatment in the claims file. VA has a duty to obtain relevant records of private treatment. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(b) (West 2002); Massey v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 204 (1994). These records are relevant to the appeal, and efforts to obtain them should be conducted following the procedures under 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (2012). The Board also requests that this opportunity is taken to obtain any outstanding records of ongoing treatment. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA medical records and associate them with the claims file or Virtual VA. All efforts to obtain these records must be documented in the claims file. Such efforts should continue until they are obtained, it is reasonably certain that they do not exist, or that further efforts would be futile. 2. Ask the Veteran to provide releases authorizing VA to obtain all records of private treatment, including at the Indiana Heart Hospital referenced in the VA examination and Board hearing. If the Veteran fails to complete necessary authorizations, tell him that he may obtain and submit the records himself. If any records cannot be obtained, inform the Veteran of this fact, tell him what efforts were made to obtain the records, and advise him of any additional development that will be undertaken. 3. After completion of all requested and necessary development, the AOJ should review the record in light of the new evidence obtained. If any benefit for which there is a perfected appeal remains denied, the Veteran should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case. Once he is afforded an opportunity to respond, the claim should be returned to the Board for appellate review. 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 2002 & Supp. 2012). _________________________________________________ JENNIFER HWA Acting 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).