Citation Nr: 21026959
Decision Date: 05/04/21	Archive Date: 05/04/21

DOCKET NO. 16-16 294
DATE:  May 4, 2021

REMANDED

Whether new and material evidence has been received sufficient to reopen a claim for entitlement to service connection for mental illness, including schizophrenia, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from February 1979 to March 1979.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

The Veteran requested a personal hearing before a member of the Board in his April 2016 formal appeal (VA Form 9). The Veteran was scheduled for his requested hearing on July 9, 2019. However, the Veteran did not appear at a hearing before the Board. As such, the request for a Board hearing is deemed withdrawn. 38C.F.R. §20.704(d) (2020).

Whether new and material evidence has been received sufficient to reopen a claim for entitlement to service connection for mental illness, including schizophrenia is remanded.

A review of the Veteran's claims file indicates that five notification letters sent between December 2015 and March 2018 were mailed to an incorrect address, and were returned to VA. The mail was sent to addresses in Northampton, Massachusetts (MA), and Leeds, MA. However, the record currently indicates that the Veteran resides in Amherst, MA.

As a matter of due process, the Veteran must be afforded the opportunity to review the notification letters prior to readjudication. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. After undertaking appropriate action to verify the Veteran's address, resend a copy of all documents formerly mailed to an incorrect address and document such in his claims file.

2. After completing the requested action, and any additional development deemed warranted, readjudicate the claim on appeal. If any benefit(s) sought on appeal remain(s) denied, furnish to the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case that includes clear reasons and bases for all determinations, and afford them an appropriate time period for response.

 

 

Kristin Haddock

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.