Citation Nr: 18159490
Decision Date: 12/19/18	Archive Date: 12/19/18

DOCKET NO. 17-20 773
DATE:	December 19, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded.
Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder is remanded.
Entitlement to an effective date earlier than May 19, 2014, for the grant of service connection for major depressive disorder is remanded.
Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from March 1999 to November 2000.
These claims arose to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded, as is entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder and an effective date earlier than May 19, 2014, for the grant of service connection for major depressive disorder, and entitlement to TDIU.
In November 2017, May 2018, June 2018, and December 2018, the Veteran’s lawyer asked the VA to issue an SOC for all four of the claimed for issues. Given the multiple requests for an SOC, it is clear that neither the Veteran nor his lawyer received the March 2017 SOC, though this appears to have been remedied via a December 2018 FOIA request. However, the March 2017 SOC addressed only the claims for entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea and entitlement to TDIU, and the Veteran has submitted more evidence since the issuance of the SOC. To date, no SOC has been issued for the Veteran’s earlier effective date claim or increased rating claim for his major depressive disorder. As such, remands are necessary for all four claims so that the VA may re-adjudicate the Veteran’s claims and issue updated SOCs for all four claims, and to preserve the Veteran’s time to perfect an appeal. Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 239, 241-41 (1999).
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
The RO must re-adjudicate the Veteran’s four claims and issue statements of the case, addressing the new evidence submitted and ensure the SOCs are sent to the Veteran and his lawyer.
 
Shamil Patel
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	C. Ryan, Associate Counsel