Citation Nr: 21062085 Decision Date: 10/06/21 Archive Date: 10/06/21 DOCKET NO. 17-35 165 DATE: October 6, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD is remanded. Entitlement to a rating higher than 10 percent for low back disability is remanded. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for type II diabetes mellitus (DM2), to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for Lyme disease, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for hypertension (HTN), to include as due to DM2 and as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran perfected an appeal from an October 2013 rating decision. See 10/21/2013 Rating Decision; 06/02/2017 SOC, 1st and 2nd Entries; 06/21/2017 VA Form 9. An April 2021 letter informed the Veteran that the Board hearing via video conference he requested was scheduled for July 21, 2021. The Veteran did not appear for his hearing nor is there any evidence that he requested a rescheduling. Hence, his hearing request is deemed to have been withdrawn. 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(d). The Board notes that the last attorney retained by the Veteran withdrew from representation shortly thereafter. There is no record of another representative having been appointed. As a member of the Army National Guard the Veteran had active service from October 1976 to February 1977 and from December 1990 to August 1991. His latter tour included service in the Persian Gulf War theater. 1. Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 10 percent for PTSD is remanded. The Veteran's then representative provided VA a copy of a May 2014 letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that informed the Veteran that he had been awarded disability benefits, effective in December 2013. See 05/02/2014 SSA/SSI Letter. The representative requested that VA obtain any records extant associated with that award. See 05/02/2014 Third Party Correspondence. There is no indication in the claims file that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction requested those records. Hence, a remand is required. Woods v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 214 (2000); see also Goltz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2010). 2. Entitlement to a rating higher than 10 percent for low back disability is remanded. See 1, above. 3. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for DM2, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. See 1, above. 4. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for Lyme disease, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. See 1, above. 5. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for HTN, to include as due to DM2 and as due to an undiagnosed illness, is remanded. See 1, above. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ shall contact the SSA and obtain any relevant records extant associated with the December 2013 award of disability benefits to the Veteran. Document all efforts to comply with this directive. 2. If relevant documents are added to the record, readjudicate the Veteran's claims as appropriate. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board W. T. Snyder 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.