Citation Nr: 0002074 Decision Date: 01/27/00 Archive Date: 02/02/00 DOCKET NO. 98-11 304 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis, Missouri THE ISSUE Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Thomas H. O'Shay, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active military service from March 1970 to January 1972. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an April 1998 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Louis, Missouri. The Board initially notes that the veteran, in his July 1998 VA Form 9, requested that he be scheduled for a hearing before a traveling member of the Board. In August 1998, he indicated that he desired a hearing before a hearing officer at the RO in lieu of a travel Board hearing. The veteran was scheduled for a local hearing in October 1998, but he thereafter indicated that he would not be released from incarceration until October 2000, and that he would therefore be unable to personally appear at a hearing at the RO. He suggested instead that a telephone conference hearing be scheduled. The veteran was advised later in October 1998 that a hearing could not be conducted at the veteran's place of incarceration and that the RO was not properly equipped to conduct a telephone conference. The veteran did not respond to this communication and thereafter failed to report for his scheduled hearing before a hearing officer at the RO. Accordingly, the Board concludes that the veteran's request for a hearing has been withdrawn. REMAND The Board initially notes that, although the RO correctly identified the issue on appeal as whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for PTSD, the Statement of the Case issued the veteran in May 1998 did not provide him with a summary of the applicable laws and regulations, with appropriate citations, pertaining to new and material evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 19.29(b) (1999). Review of the record reflects that the veteran is reportedly in receipt of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). As the records upon which the decision to award the veteran disability benefits was based are germane to the issue on appeal, the Board is of the opinion that said records should be obtained prior to further consideration of the instant appeal. The Board also notes that a VA hospital report for May 1992 to August 1992 indicates that the veteran had been treated at the Columbia, Missouri VA Medical Center (VAMC) since September 1991 for PTSD. Records of the reported treatment are not on file. The Board lastly notes that recent VA treatment records for the veteran document a diagnosis of PTSD, and that while the veteran has not recently been forthcoming in describing his alleged stressors, treatment records for the veteran in 1992 document several such stressors he contends have resulted in PTSD. There is no indication that the RO has undertaken any development to verify the veteran's stressors. Accordingly, this case is REMANDED to the RO for the following actions: 1. The RO should obtain copies of all pertinent records from the Columbia, Missouri VAMC from September 1991 to May 1992. 2. The RO should also attempt to obtain a copy of the SSA decision awarding the veteran disability benefits, as well as copies of the record upon which the veteran's award of SSA disability benefits was based, and copies of records associated with any subsequent disability determinations by the SSA. 3. The RO should attempt to obtain additional information from the veteran concerning the specific circumstances of his alleged service stressors, such as the dates, locations, units involved, names of casualties, and identifying information concerning any other individuals involved in the events, including their names, ranks, and units of assignment. With this information, the RO should review the file and prepare a summary of the veteran's alleged service stressors. This summary must be prepared whether or not the veteran provides an additional statement, as requested above. This summary and a copy of the veteran's DD 214 and other service personnel records should be sent to the United States Armed Services Center for Research of Unit Records (USASCRUR), 7798 Cissna Road, Springfield, Virginia 22150. The USASCRUR should be provided with a copy of any information obtained above, and should be requested to provide any additional information that might corroborate the veteran's alleged stressors. 4. Thereafter, the RO should review the claims file and ensure that all development actions have been conducted and completed in full. Then, the RO should readjudicate the issue of whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for PTSD in light of relevant decisions, including Hodge v. West, 155 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 1998). If it is determined that new and material evidence has been received, the RO should undertake any indicated development and then adjudicate the reopened claim on a de novo basis. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted to the veteran's satisfaction, the veteran and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case, to include a summary of the applicable laws and regulations, with appropriate citations, pertaining to new and material evidence, and be afforded an appropriate opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review. By this REMAND, the Board does not intimate any opinion as to any ultimate outcome warranted. The veteran is free to submit any additional evidence he desires to have considered in connection with his current appeal. No action is required of the veteran until he is otherwise notified. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded to the regional office. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This case must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 1999) (Historical and Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44- 8.45 and 38.02-38.03. SHANE A. DURKIN Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 1999), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 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) (1999).