Citation Nr: 18152539
Decision Date: 11/23/18	Archive Date: 11/23/18

DOCKET NO. 16-41 968
DATE:	November 23, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for benign hypertensive renal disease is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from May 1991 to August 2012. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a September 2013 rating decision.
Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for benign hypertensive renal disease is remanded.
A November 2013 letter from Dr. Climaco reflects that the Veteran has received relevant treatment from this physician. A remand is required to allow VA to obtain authorization and request these outstanding records.
Also, if the evidence reflects that the Veteran’s service-connected hypertension and/or kidney disease may have worsened since his most recent VA examinations in December 2012, he should be afforded new examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disability.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Ask the Veteran to identify the location and name of any VA or private medical facility where he has received treatment for hypertension and kidney disability, to include the dates of any such treatment.
Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for all records of his treatment for hypertension and kidney disability from Dr. Climaco and any other sufficiently identified private treatment provider from whom records have not already been obtained. Make two requests for any authorized records, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile.
2. If, after all efforts have been exhausted to obtain and associate with the claims file any additional treatment records, there is evidence that the Veteran’s hypertension and/or kidney disability has worsened since his most recent examinations in December 2012, schedule him for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected hypertensive renal disease. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria (i.e., the criteria for rating both hypertension and renal dysfunction). To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to hypertensive renal disease alone and discuss the effect of the Veteran’s disability on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living.  
The examiner must provide reasons for any opinion given.


 
Jonathan Hager
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	B. Elwood, Counsel