Citation Nr: 1340770	
Decision Date: 12/11/13    Archive Date: 12/20/13

DOCKET NO.  10-31 814	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to payment of private medical expenses incurred at the Grand Strand Regional Medical Center from August 22, 2008, through August 25, 2008.  


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A.


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL
The Veteran

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Evan M. Deichert, Counsel





INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from March 1968 to December 1970.  

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a decision in November 2009 of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina.  

In May 2011, the Veteran appeared at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is in the Veteran's file.

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center in Washington, DC.  


REMAND

As the record is incomplete further development under the duty to assist is needed. 

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following actions:

1.  Associate the Veteran's permanent VA claims file with the temporary file.  

2.  Obtain VA records from August 2008.  

3.  After the above development is completed, adjudicate the claim.  If the benefit sought is denied, furnish the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board.  





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).

The 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.  38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112.



_________________________________________________
George E. Guido Jr.  
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) (2013).