context: Third, despite the Board's acknowledged breach of the duty to assist here, the majority declines to hold open the 1990 Board decision on the basis that, at the time of that decision, the law pertaining to VA's duty to assist by obtaining SSA records "was not clearly defined." Ante at 109. By this, the majority apparently means that at the time of the 1990 Board decision there was no VA Adjudication Procedure Manual M21-1 (Manual M21-1) provision, or other internal VA issuance, extant that required VA to undertake the action that it failed to do (i.e., to obtain SSA records after receiving notice of an SSA decision awarding the appellant benefits on the basis of total unemployability), and that the Court's caselaw holding to that effect had not yet been issued.
citation_a.signal: see
citation_a.identifier: 188 F.3d 1331, 1331-32
citation_a.parenthetical: discussing VA Adjudication Procedure Manual M21-1, Part VI, Para. 6.04(b), requiring VA to make supplemental request for SMRs when initial request results in obtaining only partial records
citation_a.sentence: Ante at 109-110; see Hayre, 188 F.3d at 1331-32 (discussing VA Adjudication Procedure Manual M21-1, Part VI, Para. 6.04(b), requiring VA to make supplemental request for SMRs when initial request results in obtaining only partial records); see also Masors v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 181, 188 (1992) (VA failure to obtain SSA records after receipt of SSA decision determining unemployability is breach of duty to assist). However, the majority ignores that, at the time of the 1990 Board decision, Congress had mandated that VA’s duty to assist a well-grounded claimant “shall include requesting information as described in section 3006 of this title.” 38 U.S.C. § 3007(a) (1988) (recodified in 1991 as 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a) by Pub.L. No. 102-40, § 402(b)(1), (d)(1), 105 Stat. 238, 239).
citation_b.signal: see also
citation_b.identifier: 2 Vet.App. 181, 188
citation_b.parenthetical: VA failure to obtain SSA records after receipt of SSA decision determining unemployability is breach of duty to assist
citation_b.sentence: Ante at 109-110; see Hayre, 188 F.3d at 1331-32 (discussing VA Adjudication Procedure Manual M21-1, Part VI, Para. 6.04(b), requiring VA to make supplemental request for SMRs when initial request results in obtaining only partial records); see also Masors v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 181, 188 (1992) (VA failure to obtain SSA records after receipt of SSA decision determining unemployability is breach of duty to assist). However, the majority ignores that, at the time of the 1990 Board decision, Congress had mandated that VA’s duty to assist a well-grounded claimant “shall include requesting information as described in section 3006 of this title.” 38 U.S.C. § 3007(a) (1988) (recodified in 1991 as 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a) by Pub.L. No. 102-40, § 402(b)(1), (d)(1), 105 Stat. 238, 239).