Citation Nr: 20007974 Decision Date: 01/30/20 Archive Date: 01/30/20 DOCKET NO. 19-20 488 DATE: January 30, 2020 REMANDED The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded. The claim of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1967 to December 1996. He died in October 2017. The appellant is his surviving spouse. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an April 2018 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office (RO) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although the Board regrets further delay, additional development is necessary before a decision may be rendered on these issues on appeal. The appellant asserts that her husband’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam may be related to his death from a myocardial infarction. The appellant indicates that the Veteran received treatment from June 2016 to October 2017 at the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, and at VAMC New Orleans, Louisiana (VAMC NOLA); and that even though some records have been uploaded, there are more outstanding treatment records. See November 2017 VA Form 21-534: Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits ; see also April 2019 Deferred Rating. Indeed, not all of the Veteran’s medical treatment records have been associated with the claims file. Although some treatment records from VAMC NOLA have been associated with the claims file, these records are from a date that is no later than the year, 2010. There is no indication that the RO attempted to obtain any additional treatment records from VAMC NOLA after this date, especially from the period of 2016 – 2017. Furthermore, even though the RO indicated that it was unable to obtain records from VAMC Loma Linda from the period of January 1, 2016 to October 2017, there is no indication that the RO notified the appellant of its unsuccessful attempts to obtain these records, other than noting this in the June 2019 Statement of the Case, as doing so would have provided the appellant with an opportunity to provide additional information, and/or clarification about these outstanding treatment records, which may be useful for locating the records in question. Consequently, without the availability of all treatment records, a VA examiner rendered VA opinions, in June 2019, on the cause of the Veteran’s death. The assessment of the Veteran’s heart condition is based on seven-year old treatment records (from 2010), rather than any recent treatment records, including treatment records from which the appellant has suggested that the Veteran sought treatment during the period from 2016 to 2017. Accordingly, a remand is required for the RO to obtain all outstanding medical records, and thereafter, obtain a supplemental VA opinion on the cause of the Veteran’s death. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the requisite authorization and release from the appellant, and obtain all outstanding private and VA treatment records and associate them with the claims file, including and not limited to treatment records from the Loma Linda VA Healthcare System and VAMC New Orleans, Louisiana, from the period of January 1, 2016 to October 20, 2017. 2. Document all efforts to locate the medical records, and notify the appellant and her representative of all unsuccessful attempts to obtain the records. 3. After obtaining all outstanding medical records, and/or confirming that all available records have been associated with the claims file, obtain a VA opinion from a qualified examiner. The VA examiner must review the claims file and must note that review in the report. A copy of this REMAND must be made available to the VA examiner. The VA examiner must undertake the following: a. Determine if the Veteran had ischemic heart disease and, if so, whether such is related to a cause of his death. b. If additional medical records are added to the electronic claims file provide an opinion as to the likelihood that a service-connected disability caused or materially contributed to cause the Veteran’s death. A detailed explanation is requested for all opinions provided. If an opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation, provide an explanation as to why this is so and note what, if any, additional evidence would permit such an opinion to be rendered. Matthew Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Vanessa-Nola Pratt, 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.