Citation Nr: 1807247	
Decision Date: 02/05/18    Archive Date: 02/14/18

DOCKET NO.  14-15 419	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Roanoke, Virginia


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for temporomandibular dysfunction (TMJ).


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Virginia Department of Veterans Services


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

C.A. Skow, Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1981 to Augusts 1982.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia.

In August 2017, the Veteran withdrew her hearing request.  See VA Form 21-0820 (August 2017).

The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required on her part.


REMAND

Prior to certification of the appeal to the Board, the Veteran identified outstanding VA treatment records pertinent to her claims.  See VA Form 21-4142 (August 2017); VA Form 8 (September 2017).  However, these records have not been obtained and associated with the claims file.  Therefore, to ensure that VA has met its duty to assist the Veteran, the Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the identified outstanding pertinent VA treatment records.  38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  The AOJ should obtain all outstanding pertinent treatment records including all VA treatment records to include those from the Salem VA Medical Center dated from 2005 to the present.  The records should be associated with the claims file to the extent possible.

2.  After ensuring any other necessary development has been completed, the AOJ should readjudicate the claims.  If the benefits sought are not granted, the Veteran and her representative should be furnished a Supplemental Statement of the Case and given the requisite opportunity to respond before the case is returned to the Board.
 
By this remand, the Board intimates no opinion as to any final outcome warranted.

The Veteran and her representative have the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment.  The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.  See 38 U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112 (2012).




_________________________________________________
G. A. WASIK
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C. § 7252 (2012), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.  This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2017).