Citation Nr: 18156964
Decision Date: 12/11/18	Archive Date: 12/11/18

DOCKET NO. 16-43 840
DATE:	December 11, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance or by reason of being housebound is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from October 1991 to March 1998.
This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
In February 2015, the Board remanded service connection issues that had been on appeal for further development, as well as the above claim for issuance of a statement of the case.  The agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) granted the service connection claims in an August 2016 rating decision; the Veteran did not express disagreement with those determinations.  See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156, 1158 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
The Board notes that the Veteran has specifically indicated that he is not seeking special monthly compensation benefits by reason of being housebound and is only seeking such benefits based on the need for aid and attendance.  See August 2014 notice of disagreement and August 2016 substantive appeal.  Nevertheless, to the extent that the Veteran may meet the requirements for the lesser benefit while the case is in appellate status, the Board has included it as part of the appeal.
On review, the Board finds that additional development is necessary prior to final adjudication of the Veteran’s claim.  Specifically, it appears that there may be outstanding VA treatment records, as well as Social Security Administration (SSA) records, as detailed in the directives below.
The case is REMANDED for the following actions:
1.  The AOJ should request that the Veteran provide the names and addresses of any and all health care providers who have provided treatment for his service-connected disabilities in support of his special monthly compensation claim.  After acquiring this information and obtaining any necessary authorization, the AOJ should obtain and associate these records with the claims file.
The AOJ should also secure any outstanding VA treatment records, including: (1) any outstanding records dated from mid-2012 to 2015 (see August 2016 CAPRI claims file entry) and (2) any non-VA treatment for the service-connected disabilities dated during the appeal period that is available in the Vista Imaging System.  See, e.g., February 2016 VA treatment record (noted non-VA treatment records from Restore Chiropractic Family Wellness dated from 2015 to 2016 scanned into that database).
2.  The AOJ should obtain a copy of any decision to grant or deny SSA disability benefits to the Veteran and the records upon which that decision was based and associate them with the claims file.
If the search for such records has negative results, the claims file should be properly documented as to the unavailability of those records.  See, e.g., June 2012 Veteran submission and May 2016 VA treatment record (Veteran reported applying for, then being in receipt of SSA disability benefits).
3.  After completing the above actions, the AOJ should conduct any other indicated development.  Further development may include providing another VA examination or obtaining an additional VA medical opinion.  See July 2013 VA evaluation from Veteran; April 2014 VA examination report.
 
J.W. ZISSIMOS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Postek, Counsel