Citation Nr: 21004206
Decision Date: 01/26/21	Archive Date: 01/26/21

DOCKET NO. 14-27 974A
DATE: January 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for hypertension is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from December 2008 to June 2012.

This matter originally came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2012 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2017, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a video conference hearing. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. 

The Board remanded this case in April 2018 to obtain outstanding treatment records and a VA examination. Subsequently, an August 2019 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) denied the claim on appeal. The Board remanded this case again in September 2020 to provide the Veteran’s representative with a copy of the August 2019 SSOC. 

1. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for hypertension is remanded.

While the Board sincerely regrets further delay, a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to an initial compensable rating for hypertension can not be made because there has not been substantial compliance with the Board’s remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).   

The September 2020 Board remand directed the AOJ to issue a copy of the August 2019 SSOC to the Veteran’s representative, Texas Veterans Commission. However, there is no evidence in the file indicating that the AOJ sent a copy of the SSOC to Texas Veterans Commission. 

VA regulations require that a copy of the SSOC be sent to the Veteran’s representative. See 38 C.F.R. §19.31 (2019). Given the lack of notice, the Veteran’s representative again did not have the opportunity to respond to the SSOC within the requisite 30 days prior to the transfer of the case back to the Board. See 38C.F.R. § 20.5 (2019) stating “An appellant will be accorded full right to representation in all stages of an appeal by a recognized organization, attorney, agent, or other authorized person.”

Therefore, a remand is warranted to cure this due process error. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Send a copy of the August 2019 SSOC to the Veteran’s current representative, Texas Veterans Commission, allow 30 days to respond to such prior to returning the case back to the Board, and associate a copy of the correspondence in the claims file. 

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TANYA SMITH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A. Papacalos, Law Clerk

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.