Citation Nr: 19153455
Decision Date: 07/10/19	Archive Date: 07/10/19

DOCKET NO. 13-21 478
DATE:	July 10, 2019

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served honorably in the Navy from January 1982 to December 1988.  This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2011 rating decision of the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Nashville, Tennessee.

In a June 2017 decision, the Board denied the issue on appeal.  The Veteran appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In December 2018, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand, and remanded the issue to the Board.

Service Connection- Hypertension

Remand is required to comply with the December 2018 Court order and obtain outstanding VA treatment records.  

In a July 2015 statement, the Veteran requested the RO obtain his VA treatment records from the VA Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee from 1988 to 1992.  A review of the Veteran claims file did not include records from 1988 to 1992.  Accordingly, remand is required to obtain outstanding VA treatment records.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Please obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding records of treatment, VA and non-VA, to include records of treatment at the Knoxville, Tennessee VA Medical Center from 1988 to 1992.  If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file.  Efforts to obtain federal records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile.  The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified, and this should be documented for the record.  Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his representative.

2. Contact the Veteran and afford him the opportunity to identify by name, address and dates of treatment or examination any outstanding, relevant medical records.  Subsequently, and after securing the proper authorizations where necessary, make arrangements to obtain all the records of treatment or examination from all the sources listed by the Veteran which are not already on file.  All information obtained must be made part of the file.  All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file, and if, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named records, they are not able to be secured, provide the required notice and opportunity to respond to the Veteran and his representative.

3. If and only if any records obtained suggest elevated blood pressure readings or a diagnosis of hypertension prior to approximately 2005, please obtain a supplemental medical opinion that addresses whether it is at least as likely as not (50% probability or greater) that the Veteran’s hypertension is related to service, including an elevated blood pressure reading in service. 

 

M. C. GRAHAM

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	C. Bruton, Associate Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.