Citation Nr: 20021559 Decision Date: 03/26/20 Archive Date: 03/26/20 DOCKET NO. 15-34 920A DATE: March 26, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to recognition of the appellant as a helpless child based on permanent incapacity of self-support established prior to the age of 18 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1955 to March 1975. He died in August 1985. The appellant is his son. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a May 2013 decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In December 2018, the appellant appeared at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record In April 2019, the Board remanded the issues for further development. That development was completed, and the case has since been returned to the Board for appellate review. 1. Entitlement to recognition of the appellant as a helpless child based on permanent incapacity of self-support established prior to the age of 18 is remanded. After review of the record, the Board finds that further development is necessary before the appellant's claim can be properly adjudicated. In a January 2020 correspondence, the appellant’s representative stated that “the claimant’s sister advised when the claimant was a child, he received medical treatment at Grady Hospital.” As the appellant’s representative has identified relevant outstanding private treatment records, the duty to assist has been triggered. VA’s duty to assist includes aiding the claimant in the procurement of relevant records to include obtaining all “VA medical records or records of examination or treatment at non-VA facilities authorized by VA.” See 38 U.S.C. § 5103(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c). Where the record contains notice to VA that an appellant, in this case, has private medical records, 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(1) extends VA’s duty to assist in obtaining the sufficiently identified, relevant private records. Given that VA has a duty to assist in obtaining identified records, the appellant should be afforded the opportunity to identify any treatment providers, to include those identified by his representative, and attempts should be made to retrieve these records. Attempts should also be made to retrieve any other outstanding treatment records relevant to substantiating the appellant's claims. A remand is required to allow VA to obtain authorization and request these records. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the appellant to identify all places of treatment that he received treatment as a child. Undertake appropriate development to obtain any private treatment records identified by the appellant or his representative not already of record. Specifically, the AOJ should request the appellant or his representative provide detailed information on Grady Hospital, to include location and dates of treatment, and to authorize the release of any treatment records. All obtained records should be associated with the evidentiary record. If the AOJ cannot obtain records identified by the appellant, a notation to that effect should be inserted in the file. The appellant is to be notified of unsuccessful efforts in this regard, in order to allow him the opportunity to obtain and submit those records for VA review. 2. After completing all of the above, and any additional development deemed warranted, readjudicate the claim on appeal. If the benefit on appeal remains denied, furnish the appellant and his representative with a copy of a supplemental statement of the case and allow an appropriate time for response. Thereafter, return the file to the Board for further appellate consideration. T. MAINELLI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Michael J. O’Connor 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.