Citation Nr: 1742777	
Decision Date: 09/27/17    Archive Date: 10/04/17

DOCKET NO.  17-03 267	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for hypothyroidism, to include as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Veterans of Foreign Wars


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Patricia Veresink, Counsel 


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran had honorable active duty service with the United States Army from December 1965 to December 1967.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2016).  38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2014).

The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.

REMAND

The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in December 2014.  The examiner provided an opinion on whether the Veteran's diabetes mellitus caused the Veteran's hypothyroidism, but did not address the question of aggravation.  The Board is without discretion and, to ensure that a decision of the Board could survive judicial scrutiny, must obtain another medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's current hypothyroidism is aggravated (chronically worsened) by the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II.  See El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013) (in which the Court vacated a decision of the Board where a VA examiner did not specifically opine as to whether a disability was aggravated by a service-connected disability).

(Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).  Expedited handling is requested.)

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Return the claims file to the December 2014 examiner for further comment.  If the examiner is not available, provide the claims file to an appropriate VA examiner for a nexus opinion.    

The examiner should review the claims file, specifically the December 2014 VA examination and opinion.  The examiner should then answer the following:

Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or more) that the Veteran's diagnosed hypothyroidism is causally related to or aggravated (permanently worsened beyond the natural course of the disability) by the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II.  

If an additional examination is required for the examiner to sufficiently address the above questions, then a new examination should be afforded.  

A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions offered.  If an opinion cannot be offered without resorting to mere speculation, the examiner should explain in full why this is the case and identify what additional evidence (if any) would allow for a more definitive opinion.

2.  After undertaking the development above and any additional development deemed necessary, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated.  If the benefits sought on appeal remain denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished a supplemental statement of the case and be given an appropriate period to respond thereto before the case is returned to the Board, if in order.

The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters 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 2014).






______________________________________________
GAYLE E. STROMMEN
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2014), 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) (2016).