Citation Nr: 21002059
Decision Date: 01/12/21	Archive Date: 01/12/21

DOCKET NO. 14-43 811
DATE: January 12, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a clothing allowance for the 2014 calendar year due to use of back and knee braces 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 served on active duty from November 1986 to December 1988.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 letter of determination by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In a May 2018 decision, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim. The Veteran appealed the Board’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In October 2019, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) that vacated the May 2018 Board decision as to such issue and the matter now returns for further appellate review. 

 

Entitlement to a clothing allowance for the 2014 calendar year due to use of back and knee braces.

In the instant matter, the file for the claim of entitlement to a clothing allowance for the 2014 calendar year due to use of back and knee braces 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 entitlement a clothing allowance for the 2014 calendar year due to use of back and knee braces to the electronic claims file.

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

 

 

C. CRAWFORD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Brennae L. Brooks, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.