Citation Nr: 20036070 Decision Date: 05/26/20 Archive Date: 05/26/20 DOCKET NO. 14-42 071 DATE: May 26, 2020 REMANDED The claim of entitlement to benefits based on permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining the age of 18 is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1943 to August 1946. He died in 1995. The appellant is his surviving daughter. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a rating decision by a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In October 2019, the appellant testified at a hearing before the Board. A transcript of the hearing is included in the electronic claims file and has been reviewed. In January 2020, the Board remanded this matter. The case is again before the Board for appellate review. Another remand is warranted for medical inquiry and additional development into the claim. The appellant was born in 1959. She claims entitlement to VA benefits based on being a helpless child. To prevail in her claim the evidence must indicate that she, by the age of 18, became permanently incapable of self-support by reason of mental or physical defect, and that she has remained permanently incapable of self-support since then. 38 C.F.R. § 3.356. The appellant’s primary assertion is that asthma has rendered her incapable of self-support since childhood. Evidence of record indicates difficulty during and since childhood. School transcripts show poor academic performance while data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicates years of unemployment. She has also submitted volumes of medical evidence dated since the 1970s showing multiple health problems to include asthma. A medical professional should review the medical evidence and then comment on the severity of asthma since childhood. See Colvin v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 171 (1991) (VA may only consider independent medical evidence to support its findings and is not permitted to base decisions on its own unsubstantiated medical conclusions). Moreover, the appellant has stated that she receives disability benefits from SSA. The RO attempted to obtain medical evidence from SSA but SSA indicated in October 2014 that records pertaining to the appellant have been destroyed. On remand, an attempt should be made to determine the nature of the benefits and when the appellant began receiving them. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Determine the nature of any benefits the appellant receives from SSA and the date of entitlement to such benefits. 2. Schedule an examination to determine the state of the appellant’s health prior to and since turning 18 years of age. After reviewing the claims folder, interviewing the appellant, and examining her, the examiner should answer the following questions: (a). Is it at least as likely as not (i.e., probability of 50 percent or greater) that, by reaching the age of 18, the appellant had become permanently incapable of self-support by reason of mental or physical defect? (b). If so, is it at least as likely as not that the appellant has been permanently incapable of self-support by reason of such disability since the age of 18. In your answer(s), describe for the Board’s edification the nature and severity of the appellant’s asthma during childhood and in adulthood. Note that the appellant has claimed that she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well. Also detail any evidence yielded during your interview of the appellant regarding marriage, children, prior employment, living arrangements since childhood, driving history, caregiving services for parents, etc. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Christopher McEntee, 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.