Citation Nr: 1323523 Decision Date: 07/24/13 Archive Date: 08/01/13 DOCKET NO. 10-04 112A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to an increased rating for calluses of the sole of the left foot, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling. 2. Entitlement to an increased rating for calluses of the sole of the right foot, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling. REPRESENTATION Veteran represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD P. Childers, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1976 to June 1979. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2009 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In correspondence dated in April 2011, the Veteran withdrew her request for a Board hearing. The issue of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including as secondary to service-connected bilateral foot calluses disability, was raised by the Veteran in her April 2011 correspondence, but it has not been adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). Thus, the Board does not have jurisdiction over this issue and it is referred to the AOJ for appropriate action. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND In September 1979 the RO granted service connection for calluses, soles of both feet, and assigned a noncompensable rating. In February 2009 the Veteran submitted her claim for an increased rating (compensable) rating for her service-connected bilateral foot calluses disability. In October 2009 she was accorded a VA foot examination, and in May 2010 she was accorded a VA scars examination. In a rating decision dated in July 2010 the RO increased the rating for the Veteran's bilateral foot calluses disability to 10 percent, each foot., effective May 21, 2010. In correspondence dated in April, 2011, the Veteran stated that her calluses were spreading to other parts of her feet and that she was seeing her podiatrist more frequently, indicating a reported worsening of her conditions. As such, VA is required to afford her a contemporaneous VA examination to assess the current nature, extent and severity of her bilateral foot calluses disability. See Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 181 (2007); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997); see also VAOPGCPREC 11-95 (1995), 60 Fed. Reg. 43186 (1995). Thus, the Board has no discretion and must remand this claim for a new examination. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.327. On remand all of the Veteran's outstanding VA treatment records dating from January 2011 should be associated with the claims file. See Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate, with the claims file, physically or electronically, all of the Veteran's VA medical records dating from January 2011 to the present. Any other pertinent records identified by the Veteran during the course of the remand should also be obtained and associated with the claims file, following the receipt of any necessary authorizations from the Veteran. 2. Notify the Veteran that she may submit lay statements from herself and from individuals who have first-hand knowledge of the nature, extent and severity of her right foot and left foot symptoms. The Veteran should be provided an appropriate amount of time to submit this lay evidence. 3. After associating all outstanding records with the claims file, schedule the Veteran for a new VA examination to ascertain the severity of her service-connected bilateral foot calluses disability. The examiner must review the claims file in conjunction with the examination, and must interview the Veteran during the examination; and all subjective complaints and objective findings must be documented in the examination report. All indicated tests should be done, and all findings reported in detail. A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If an opinion cannot be rendered on a medical or scientific basis without invoking processes relating to guesswork or judgment based upon mere conjecture, the examiner should clearly and specifically so state in the examination report, and explain why that is so. 4. Then readjudicate the appeal. If the benefit sought on appeal is ot granted in full, provide the Veteran a supplemental statement of the case, provide the Veteran and her representative an opportunity to respond. and return the case to the Board. The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. 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 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2012). _________________________________________________ STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), 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) (2012).