Citation Nr: 22035167
Decision Date: 06/16/22	Archive Date: 06/16/22

DOCKET NO. 15-46 968
DATE: June 16, 2022

REMANDED

Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hypertension is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral eye disorder (claimed as blindness in left eye), to include as secondary to service-connected hypertension, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active duty service from September 1990 to June 1991.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

A hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in March 2020; however, a complete transcript of the proceeding was unable to be produced due to technical difficulties.  In December 2020, a letter was sent to the Veteran and her representative advising them of the opportunity to testify at another hearing.  The letter also stated that, if a response was not received within 30 days, the Board will assume that they do not want another hearing.  To date, there has been no response.  

The Board notes that additional evidence has been added to the claims file that was not previously considered by the RO in connection with the issues on appeal, including additional relevant VA treatment records and VA examinations.  There is an automatic waiver of initial AOJ review for any evidence submitted by the Veteran; however, as the additional evidence was obtained by the RO rather than the Veteran, the automatic waiver provision does not apply.  In addition, a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) has not been issued, and the Veteran has not submitted a waiver of the RO's initial consideration of the non-automatic waiver evidence.  See April 2022 correspondence.  As such, the case should be referred to the AOJ for review and preparation of an SSOC.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1.  The agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) should request that the Veteran provide the names and addresses of any and all health care providers who have provided treatment for hypertension and an eye disorder.  After acquiring this information and obtaining any necessary authorization, the AOJ should obtain and associate these records with the claims file.

The AOJ should also secure any outstanding VA treatment records.

2. The AOJ should conduct any other development that may be indicated.  Further development may include VA examinations and/or medical opinions.

3.  The case should then be readjudicated by the AOJ, including all evidence received since the October 2015 statement of the case.

If the benefit sought is not granted, the Veteran and her representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review.

 

 

J.W. ZISSIMOS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D.S. Chilcote

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.