Citation Nr: 18146806
Decision Date: 11/01/18	Archive Date: 11/01/18

DOCKET NO. 11-01 874
DATE:	November 1, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004, is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from January 2003 to May 2004.  This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2010 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 
The claim was previously before the Board in March 2014, May 2015, and most recently in June 2018.  Each time the remands were for additional development related to the claim.  As will be discussed further below, regrettably another remand is warranted.
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004, is remanded.
In June 2018, the Board issued a decision remanding the issue of an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004.  Following the Board decision, the RO issued a decision in July 2018 denying the initial 70 percent rating for depressive disorder.  The RO issued a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) also in July 2018 notifying the Veteran of the denial.  Subsequently, the RO sent a notification letter in July 2018 advising the Veteran that he had been granted an initial 70 percent rating for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004.  The Board notes that the SSOC denying the depressive issue was returned to the Board as undeliverable.  Further, no SSOC was issued following the grant of the initial 70 percent rating for depressive disorder.  In addition, the Board notes that an employment questionnaire mailed to the Veteran was also returned in September 2017 as undeliverable.  The record contains no address change submission by the Veteran or his representative.  A review of returned mail reveals the addresses were not properly labeled, which resulted in the mail being returned.  The Veteran’s correct address is:  1083 Monte Grande, Carr 102, Cabo Rojo, PR 00623.  While the correct address is noted in the electronic system, the returned mail fails to annotate what appears to be his apartment number in Puerto Rico on the correspondence.  Each returned piece of mail neglects to annotate the Carr 102 portion of the address on the external envelope (as opposed to the enclosed letter, which does note Carr 102 but as such is not visible to the mail carrier it is not of much use).
Given the above, a remand is warranted to ensure the Veteran has been properly advised of the status of his claim and to issue an SSOC notifying him of the initial 70 percent grant for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004.
Additionally, updated VA treatment records should be associated with the record on remand.  See Sullivan v. McDonald, 815 F.3d 786, 792 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (finding that because § 3.159(c)(3) expanded the VA’s duty to assist to include obtaining VA medical records without consideration of their relevance.)
The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. Update/Obtain VA treatment records from July 2018 to the present.  Document all requests for information as well as responses in the claims file.
2. Send the Veteran and [his/her] representative a supplemental statement of the case that addresses the issue of an initial rating of 70 percent for depressive disorder beginning May 30, 2004.  

 
ERIC S. LEBOFF
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. M. Williams, Associate Counsel