Citation Nr: 21020871 Decision Date: 04/08/21 Archive Date: 04/08/21 DOCKET NO. 15-02 479 DATE: April 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for major depression is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1976 to January 1979. In October 2019 a videoconference hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript is of record. The Board remanded the matter in January 2020 for private treatment records to be associated with the record. While the Board regrets further delay, remand for further development is warranted. During the October 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran reported that he received benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) due to his psychiatric condition. The Veteran reported that he was sent to be assessed by a private clinician in approximately 2016. The Board notes that these outstanding treatment records are likely relevant to the instant claim and have not yet been associated with the record. As such, remand to obtain the outstanding records is warranted. Furthermore, the Board notes that although the Veteran was provided VA Forms 21-4142 and 21-4142a on two separate occasions, which would allow VA to obtain private treatment records identified in the January 2020 remand, the Veteran has not yet submitted both signed forms. The Board stresses that the duty to assist is a two-way street. If the Veteran wishes help, he must actively assist VA by providing the information requested by VA to support his claim. Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Write to the Veteran and request that he identify and authorize VA to obtain any private or non-VA records of treatment for major depressive disorder, and make reasonable efforts to obtain any records the Veteran identifies and authorizes VA to obtain, to specifically include treatment from 2005 to 2006 at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. 2. Obtain the Veteran’s federal records from SSA pertaining to that agency’s decision concerning the Veteran’s claim for disability benefits, including any medical records relied upon to make the decision. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Griffin, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.