Citation Nr: 18149155
Decision Date: 11/08/18	Archive Date: 11/08/18

DOCKET NO. 12-13 857
DATE:	November 8, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a rating higher than 60 percent for nephropathy with hypertension is remanded.
Entitlement to reinstatement of special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from August 1967 to August 1969. These matters come to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in June 2010 and March 2015.
The increased rating claim was remanded by the Board in July 2015 to schedule a requested hearing. The Veteran thereafter presented testimony at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in October 2015. A transcript is of record. Both claims were remanded by the Board in January 2016 and June 2017.  
1. Entitlement to a rating higher than 60 percent for nephropathy with hypertension is remanded.
The Board remanded this claim in June 2017 in pertinent part to schedule a VA examination and to obtain updated VA treatment records. No VA treatment records were associated with the record after the June 2017 remand. Where the remand orders of the Board are not complied with, the Board errs as a matter of law when it fails to ensure compliance.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).  This deficiency must be rectified on remand. Given that the claim is being remanded for updated VA records, the Board finds that another attempt to schedule the Veteran for an examination should be made.  
2. Entitlement to reinstatement of SMC at the housebound rate is remanded.
This claim remains inextricably intertwined with the claim for increased rating.
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain VA treatment records from the Denver VA Medical Center, dated since October 2016.
2. Make further attempts to schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected nephropathy with hypertension. The electronic claims file must be reviewed by the examiner. All indicated testing must be conducted, and all pertinent symptomatology must be reported in detail.
 
K. A. BANFIELD
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	D. Van Wambeke, Counsel