Citation Nr: 1613621	
Decision Date: 04/04/16    Archive Date: 04/13/16

DOCKET NO.  12-04 647	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Columbia, South Carolina


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as secondary to service connected sideroblastic anemia.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	The American Legion


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

E. Redman, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from February 1986 to February 1989 and from October 1990 to May 1991.  

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

When the case was previously before the Board in February 2014 it was remanded for additional development.

The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.


REMAND

Although the Board regrets the additional delay, a remand is necessary to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claim so that he is afforded every possible consideration.  38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159.

After the January 2016 supplemental statement of the case was issued, the record reflects that on March 14, 2016, additional relevant VA treatment records dating through February 20, 2016 were added to the claims file.  No supplemental statement of the case was issued subsequently.  Thus, the most recent supplemental statement of the case was issued prior to the completion of all claim development action by the AOJ and therefore, the adjudication did not consider the additional VA treatment record evidence.  Under 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304(c), the Veteran may waive his right to have any pertinent evidence submitted by him or his representative reviewed by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in the first instance.  However, the evidence is not evidence submitted by the Veteran or his representative.  Therefore, this VA treatment evidence must be considered by the AOJ in the first instance, and a remand is required in order to accomplish that.  38 C.F.R. §§ 19.37(b), 20.1304(c) (2015).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

The RO/AMC must review the record, including all newly acquired evidence since the January 2016 supplemental Statement of the Case, including the VA treatment records added to the claims file on March 14, 2016, and then adjudicate the claim on appeal.  If any benefits sought on appeal remains denied, provide a Supplemental Statement of the Case to the Veteran and his representative, and an appropriate period of time in which to respond.  Then, return the appeal to the Board for appellate review.

The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters 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 2014).



_________________________________________________
H. N. SCHWARTZ
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2014), 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) (2015).