Citation Nr: 21000895
Decision Date: 01/06/21	Archive Date: 01/06/21

DOCKET NO. 15-21 010
DATE: January 6, 2021

REMANDED

Payment or reimbursement of private medical expenses incurred on October 24, 2014.

Payment or reimbursement of private medical expenses incurred on November 17, 2014.

 

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1977 to October 1989, December 1989 to April 1990, from May 1990 to June 1990, from December 1990 to May 1991, and from September 1992 to May 1994. 

The matters are on appeal from a VA decision which denied entitlement to payment or reimbursement for private medical treatment received in October and November 2014. 

In August 2018, the Board denied the claims for payment or reimbursement of private medical treatment set forth above.  The Veteran appealed the case to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a June 2019 Order, on the basis of a June 2019 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the Court vacated and remanded the Board’s decision as to the claims for payment or reimbursement for private medical treatment received on October 24, 2014, and November 17, 2014.   

1. Payment or reimbursement of private medical expenses incurred on October 24, 2014.

2. Payment or reimbursement of private medical expenses incurred on November 17, 2014.

Prior to addressing the claims on the merits and in compliance with the June 2019 Court Order, the Board notes that in the instant matter, the file for the claim of entitlement to payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses 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 to the electronic claims file.

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

 

 

RYAN T. KESSEL

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	William Pagan, 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.