Citation Nr: 21000115
Decision Date: 01/04/21	Archive Date: 01/04/21

DOCKET NO. 15-03 710
DATE: January 4, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Central Peninsula Hospital and North Star Medical Imaging on January 1, 2014 is remanded in order for the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active duty service from June 1974 to June 1976 in the United States Army and from November 1976 to November 1978 in the United States Navy.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2014 letter of determination by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.  The Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in December 2015.  In December 2018, the Board issued a decision denying the Veteran’s appeal, but he appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a memorandum decision issued in February 2020, the Court vacated the Board’s decision and remanded the Veteran’s appeal back to the Board for action consistent with its decision.

1. Entitlement to payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Central Peninsula Hospital and North Star Medical Imaging on January 1, 2014 is remanded in order for the AOJ to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.

In the instant matter, the file for the claim of entitlement to payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Central Peninsula Hospital and North Star Medical Imaging on January 1, 2014 cannot be located, and documentation pertinent to the appeal is not in the electronic record.  Therefore, it must be remanded in order for the AOJ to reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the appeal to the electronic claims file.  If such records are unable to be located, the AOJ should make a formal finding of unavailability.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Reconstruct the record and upload all documentation related to the claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Central Peninsula Hospital and North Star Medical Imaging on January 1, 2014 to the electronic claims file.

2. If such records are unable to be associated with the record, make a formal finding of unavailability.

 

 

M. C. GRAHAM

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S.M. Kreitlow

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.