First let me say that I am shocked- shocked I say- that Congress has approved Laura Eskinazi as a Veterans Law Judge. She, for all of you in the dark, has been the Veterans’ nemesis over at the Office of General Counsel for years. I always assumed she’d take Will Gunn’s place. Apparently he wasn’t ready to move on and she was ripe for promotion. Oh well. There’s still hope when he gets the bump or boot. That will be a dark day for us.

The next one is a hoot:

On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Honolulu, Hawaii

THE ISSUES

1. Entitlement to an initial rating higher than 10 percent for dysthymic disorder.

2. Entitlement to an increased rating for chronic actinic damage due to sun exposure, currently rated as 10 percent disabling.

3. Entitlement to an extraschedular rating for chronic actinic damage due to sun exposure.

4. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo? It’s Hawaii, homey. What was he expecting?

The Veteran has not yet been issued a Statement of the Case on the issue of entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for chronic actinic damage due to sun exposure. Where a Notice of Disagreement has been filed with regard to an issue, and a Statement of the Case has not been issued, the appropriate Board action is to remand the issue for issuance of a Statement of the Case. Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238, 240-41 (1999).

And to add insult to injury, the RO sent it off to DC without even issuing a SOC or certifying the appeal. Heavens to Murgatroid.