Citation Nr: 21073028 Decision Date: 12/07/21 Archive Date: 12/07/21 DOCKET NO. 18-07 628 DATE: December 7, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a heart disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left foot disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right foot disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right hip disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for neck disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a back disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for respiratory disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from August 1964 to August 1968. He died in May 2019. The appellant, who is the Veteran's surviving spouse, has been properly substituted for the Veteran. 38 U.S.C. § 5121A. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2019, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge of the Board. A transcript of the hearing is of record. This case was before the Board in June 2021. The Veteran's claims were remanded for additional development. The case is now again before the Board for further appellate action. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a heart disorder is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a left foot disorder is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for a right foot disorder is remanded. 4. Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disorder is remanded. 5. Entitlement to service connection for right hip disorder is remanded. 6. Entitlement to service connection for neck disorder is remanded. 7. Entitlement to service connection for a back disorder is remanded. 8. Entitlement to service connection for respiratory disorder is remanded. The Board finds that a remand is necessary before a decision on the merits of the claims can be reached. In July 2020, the appellant, the Veteran's widow, was notified by the VA that she had been recognized as a valid substitute claimant for the Veteran's appeal. Following the Veteran's death in May 2019, the RO had received a completed VA Form 21-22a appointing appellant's representative in June 2019. Prior to his death, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing in May 2019 that he was treated by private physicians for his claimed heart, musculoskeletal, and respiratory disabilities. In June 2021, the Board remanded the Veteran's claims to obtain pertinent VA and non-VA treatment records, including records from several health care providers identified at the May 2019 Board hearing. The Board directed that all efforts to obtain the evidence and findings thereof must be documented in the claims file. If after all procedurally appropriate actions to locate and secure the records have been exhausted, and it is reasonably certain that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would be futile, make a formal finding to that effect. Following the Board remand, in July 2021, the RO sent a development letter that was addressed to the deceased Veteran. To obtain medical records from private providers, the letter instructed the Veteran to complete and return an enclosed VA Form 21-4142, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and VA Form 21-4142a, General Release for Medical Provider Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Veteran was also advised that he may want to obtain and submit the records himself. The development letter was not sent to the appellant's appointed representative, as the letter stated "[w]e have no record of you appointing a service organization or representative to assist you with your claim." In September 2021, a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) was sent to the deceased Veteran that denied service connection for all eight issues on appeal. Regarding efforts to obtain private medical records, the SSOC stated the following: "On July 2, 2021 per BVA Remand, we sent you a Duty to Assist letter (DTA) with a VA Form 21-4142/4142a for requesting information on any pertinent private treatment records on your behalf. To date we have not received a response." The SSOC did not report that the July 2021 was not sent to the appellant or appellant's appointed representative. The SSOC also did not make a formal finding that it was reasonably certain that records from health care providers identified at the May 2019 Board hearing do not exist or that further efforts to obtain those records would be futile, as directed by the Board in its June 2021 remand. In view of the foregoing, remand is required to provide the appellant all due process, to include providing her representative copies of all appropriate documents and an opportunity to provide a response, including argument, on the appellant's behalf. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ensure the appellant's representative has received all correspondence from VA required to represent the appellant. At minimum, ensure the representative is provided a copy of the July 2, 2021 development letter and attachments and is afforded an opportunity to provide argument on the appellant's behalf. 2. After the development described above, and any additionally indicated development, has been completed, readjudicate the issue on appeal. If any determination remains unfavorable to the appellant, send the appellant and her representative a SSOC and provide an opportunity to respond. If necessary, return the case to the Board for further appellate review. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). These claims must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Moore, 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.