Citation Nr: 1413862
Decision Date: 03/31/14 Archive Date: 04/10/14
DOCKET NO. 08-30 911 ) DATE
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Houston, Texas
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
REPRESENTATION
Veteran represented by: Texas Veterans Commission
WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL
The Veteran
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Thomas M. Susco II, General Attorney
INTRODUCTION
The Veteran served on active duty from May 1968 to April 1970, with awards and decorations including the Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star, and Air Medal.
This matter was originally before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2006 decision of the Houston, Texas Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In March 2012, the Veteran appeared at a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). In May 2012, the Board issued a decision that, in part, denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
ORDER TO VACATE
The Board may vacate an appellate decision at any time upon request of the appellant or his or her representative, or on the Board's own motion, when an appellant has been denied due process of law. 38 U.S.C.A. § 7104(a) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.904 (2013).
In September 2013, pursuant to a settlement agreement in the case of National Org. of Veterans' Advocates, Inc. v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 725 F.3d 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2013), the Board sent the Veteran a letter notifying him of an opportunity to receive a new decision from the Board that would correct any potential due process error relating to the duties of the VLJ that conducted the March 2012 hearing. See Bryant v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 488 (2010) (holding that the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(c)(2) apply to a hearing before the Board and that a VLJ has a duty to explain fully the issues and to suggest the submission of evidence that may have been overlooked). In November 2013, the Veteran responded that he wished to have the prior decision vacated and a new one issued in its place.
Accordingly, the portion of the May 2012 Board decision that denied entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is vacated. The remainder of the May 2012 Board decision remains undisturbed.
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D. C. SPICKLER
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals