Bruce Masors appealed a Board decision denying service connection for a psychiatric disorder and non-service-connected pension. The Court first addressed the reopened service-connection issue. It held that the Board had failed to apply the two-step reopening analysis under Manio, but concluded that the error was harmless because the evidence submitted after the prior Board denial was not material to service connection. The new VA examination did not link the current psychiatric diagnosis to service, so reopening was not warranted under 38 U.S.C. § 5108.

The Court then turned to the pension claim. Because the Board considered the entire record, the Court reviewed the whole record as well. It held that VA breached its duty to assist by failing to obtain identified private treatment records from the veteran’s psychotherapist and relevant Social Security Administration records concerning his unemployability. The Court also held that the Board failed to give adequate reasons or bases for discounting the SSA administrative law judge’s findings that the veteran could not perform past work, had no transferable skills, and could not adjust to other work. The case was affirmed in part and remanded in part for record development and a more adequate decision on pension.

When the record reasonably identifies pertinent private medical records or SSA disability records, VA must attempt to obtain them as part of the duty to assist, and the Board must provide adequate reasons or bases for its treatment of materially favorable evidence, including SSA findings on unemployability.

Advocates should treat identified SSA and private treatment records as development targets in pension and unemployability cases, and should challenge Board decisions that dismiss SSA findings without explanation.

Masors remains a foundational case for the proposition that SSA records and long-term private treatment records can be highly probative in VA pension and unemployability adjudications. It also reinforces that the Board must engage the substance of favorable evidence rather than relying on conclusory statements about employability.

Failing to obtain identified SSA or private treatment records and failing to explain why favorable unemployability evidence is rejected.

A veteran reports long-term private psychotherapy and a prior SSA disability award, but the Board denies pension based only on a short VA examination. Under Masors, VA should obtain the referenced records, and the Board must explain any disagreement with SSA findings before denying the claim.

Use Masors to demand development of SSA and private records, to argue that SSA disability findings are relevant evidence in VA pension or unemployability cases, and to attack conclusory Board reasons-or-bases analysis.

Manio v. Derwinski, Colvin v. Derwinski, Godwin v. Derwinski, Jones v. Derwinski, Littke v. Derwinski, Murphy v. Derwinski, Collier v. Derwinski, Ferraro v. Derwinski, Gilbert v. Derwinski, Fletcher v. Derwinski, Sammarco v. Derwinski, Hyder v. Derwinski, Hatlestad v. Derwinski