Citation Nr: 21032225
Decision Date: 05/26/21	Archive Date: 05/26/21

DOCKET NO. 15-33 563
DATE: May 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1948 to December 1952.  The Veteran died in July 2012.  The appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse. 

1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

2. Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is remanded.

The Board cannot make a fully informed decision regarding the Veteran's claims on appeal as a significant and relevant portion of the claims file appear to be missing.

Upon receipt of the claims file from the RO, the Board noted that few documents exist in the file prior to the Veteran's death, including key procedural and evidentiary records.  The record contains indications that the Veteran was rated 100 percent disabled for a significant period, yet the file does not contain any rating decisions or other documents associated with granting those awards. 

Following a review of the record, the Board finds that remand is warranted in order to afford the appellant due process and to conduct the required development prior to adjudication of her appeal.

The Board finds that the electronic claims file appears to be incomplete.

Accordingly, the Board finds that remand is necessary in order to attempt to reconstruct the Veteran's claims file.  The steps taken to do so must be documented for the record, and all previous locations for this file must be thoroughly searched.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Undertake all reasonable efforts to reconstruct the Veteran's claims file and/or obtain any missing documents from any relevant records repository and associate them with the electronic claims file. Such efforts should include requesting records from storage locations, if applicable. 

2. Document all such efforts and associate them with the claims file, including any negative responses or results, from all ROs involved in this search.

3.  Then, if any claims file documents remain missing after completing the steps above, take all appropriate steps to attempt to replace them, including but not limited to requesting service medical records and service personnel records through official channels and requesting VA outpatient treatment records, if appropriate. 

4. A formal finding must be associated with the claims file if any documents cannot be recovered. 

 

 

John J. Crowley

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	V. Woehlke

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.