BVA9501405 
DOCKET NO.  93-12 552     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery,
Alabama

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to a permanent and total disability rating for
pension purposes.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Alabama Department of Veterans
Affairs

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Hilary L. Goodman, Counsel

REMAND

The veteran had active service from October 1953 to September
1956.

This appeal arises from a May 1992 rating decision which denied
the veteran's claim for a permanent and total disability rating
for pension purposes.

The veteran's representative contends that the veteran's February
1992 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical examination did
not include an examination of his left hip, which the veteran
fractured in a fall in September 1990, and that the examiner
failed to record the veteran's complaints.  It is asserted that
his left hip disability prevents him from performing the tasks
required of a house painter and it is requested that an
examination of his left hip disability be conducted by the VA.

The record shows that the veteran was last hospitalized at the VA
Medical Center, Birmingham, in September 1990 and that he was
last hospitalized at the VA Medical Center, Tuskegee, in August
1991.  The most recent VA outpatient treatment records from
Tuskegee are dated in June 1992 and the most recent VA outpatient
treatment records from Birmingham are dated in February 1991.

In view of the foregoing, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
finds that the case should be REMANDED to the originating agency
for the following action:

1.  The originating agency should request
copies of all of the veteran's outpatient
treatment records dated subsequent to June
1992 and any inpatient treatment records
dated subsequent to August 1991 from the VA
Medical Center, Tuskegee, and copies of all
of the veteran's outpatient treatment
records dated subsequent to February 1991
and any inpatient treatment records dated
subsequent to September 1990 from the VA
Medical Center, Birmingham.  All documents
obtained should be associated with the
veteran's claims file.

2.  After the requested medical records
have been secured, the originating agency
should schedule the veteran for orthopedic
and general medical examinations to
evaluate the severity of his current
disabilities, particularly as they effect
the veteran industrially, including any
permanent impairment due to residuals of a
left hip fracture.  All necessary tests, as
well as any other recommended examinations,
should be conducted.  The examining
physician(s) should be given access to the
veteran's claims file for a sufficient
period of time to allow for a complete
review of the record.

3.  The originating agency should then
review the veteran's claim for a permanent
and total disability rating for pension
purposes on the basis of all the evidence
of record.  They should assign a schedular
rating for each of the veteran's
disabilities and should review the
veteran's claim by considering the "average
person" standard under 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 1502(a)(1) (West 1991) as well as the
"unemployability" standard under 38 C.F.R.
§§ 4.17 and 3.321(b)(2) (1993).

4.  The veteran and his representative
should then be provided with a supplemental
statement of the case that sets forth the
evidence received since the statement of
the case, the appropriate diagnostic codes
for the veteran's disabilities and a
discussion of the "average person" and
"unemployability" standards.  The parties
should be afforded the appropriate period
of time in which to respond.

Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for further
consideration, if in order.  No action is required by the veteran
until he receives further notice.  The purpose of this REMAND is
to obtain clarifying medical information and afford the veteran
due process.

          CHARLES E. HOGEBOOM
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This action has been taken in
accordance with the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 303, 108 Stat. 4645, ___ (1994), and is in
the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R.
§ 20.1100(b) (1993).