BVA9501568 
DOCKET NO.  92-13 240     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania

THE ISSUES

1.  Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to
reopen a claim of service connection for post-traumatic stress
disorder.

2.  Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to
reopen a claim of service connection for a low back disability.

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

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Mark D. Hindin, Counsel
REMAND

The veteran had active duty from May 1970 to May 1973.

This case was remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (the
Board) in January 1994, in part, for efforts to secure records
from the Social Security Administration, to afford the veteran a
current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) examination, and for
the RO to rate each of the veteran's disabilities.  The RO sent
requests for information on two occasions to a Social Security
Administration office but received no response.  The veteran,
through his representative, asserts that further efforts should
be made to secure these records.

The veteran was afforded VA examinations in March and May 1994,
but no subsequent rating decision was issued which separately
rated his disabilities.  Such action is necessary in claims for
pension benefits.  Roberts v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 387 (1992).
The RO did issue a confirmed rating decision, which implied that
the prior evaluations remained in effect.  However, a hiatal
hernia was identified on the most recent VA examination.  This
disability has not been rated.

To ensure that VA has met its duty to assist the claimant in
developing the facts pertinent to the claim and to ensure full
compliance with due process requirements, the case is REMANDED to
the regional office (RO) for the following development:

1.  The RO should request that the veteran
furnish information as to any treatment he
has received since the Board's prior remand
decision in January 1994.  The RO should
then take all necessary steps to obtain
those records and associate them with the
claims folder.

2.  The RO should again seek to obtain all
records pertaining to the veteran's claim
for benefits from the Social Security
Administration.  Any records so obtained
should be associated with the claims
folder.  It is pointed out that the
decision awarding Social Security
disability benefits was issued from the
Office of the Administrative Law Judge in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

3.  The RO should rate each of the
veteran's disabilities separately in
accordance with the provisions of
38 C.F.R. Part 4 (1993), Schedule for
Rating Disabilities.

If after completion of the requested development the benefit
sought has not been granted, the veteran and his representative
should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case,
which clarifies whether the veteran has submitted new and
material evidence to reopen his claims of service connection for
post-traumatic stress disorder and a low back disability.  The
veteran and his representative should be given a reasonable
opportunity to respond.  Thereafter, following compliance with
all other procedures relative to the processing of appeals, the
case should be returned to the Board for further appellate
consideration of any issue for which a valid substantive appeal
has been submitted.  No action is required of the veteran until
he receives further notice.

          LAWRENCE M. SULLIVAN
          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 remand 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).