Citation Nr: 18144882 Decision Date: 10/25/18 Archive Date: 10/25/18 DOCKET NO. 17-11 097 DATE: October 25, 2018 REMANDED 1. Entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for anterior abdominal scar is remanded. 2. Entitlement to a temporary total evaluation beyond February 1, 2014, because of treatment for a service-connected disability requiring convalescence is remanded. 3. Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based upon individual unemployability, due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service in the United States Marine Corps from November 1992 to December 1995. 1. Entitlement to an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for anterior abdominal scar. 2. Entitlement to a temporary total evaluation beyond February 1, 2014, because of treatment for a service-connected disability requiring convalescence. 3. Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based upon individual unemployability, due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU). At the outset, the Board notes that, although the Veteran’s appellate brief includes in its issues the claim for posterior trunk scars, it is not mentioned in the brief’s conclusion. Moreover, that claim is nowhere mentioned in the Veteran’s December 2015 Notice of Disagreement. Additionally, the December 2015 VA Appeals Form 9, in setting forth specifically only those issues the Veteran is appealing, includes only the claim for abdominal scar. As such, of the two claims for scars, the Board understands only the claim for anterior abdominal scar to be before it in this appeal. Between the issuance of the December 2016 Statement of the Case (SOC) and the April 2017 notification letter to the Veteran that his appeal had been certified to the Board, new evidence was associated with the claims file, to include a February 2017 VA examination for abdominal scars, a March 2017 VA examination, also for abdominal scars, both not previously of record, and a series of collections of VA treatment records covering the period of August 2010 to October 2016 and comprised of 728 pages. The VA treatment records contain some treatment notes on both the Veteran’s numerous service-connected disabilities, as well as claimed disabilities, including those now on appeal, but, most prominently, there are extensive notes for the Veteran’s service-connected PTSD, which include many treatment interviews, screenings and mental status examinations. As this material has been added to the file since the December 2016 SOC, it is clear that the two VA examinations for scars have not yet been considered for adjudication by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) and there is no indication otherwise that the Veteran is aware of this evidence or the numerous and varied treatment notes for the period of August 2010 through October 2016. Therefore, the Veteran’s claim for abdominal scar must be adjudicated by the AOJ. Moreover, as the Veteran’s hernia surgery was in July 2015, the above VA records cover the period after this surgery up to October 2016 and, therefore, those records might be determinative of his claim for an extended effective date for temporary total evaluation for convalescence. In addition, as stated above, the voluminous VA records pertain to the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities and will therefore be essential in the determination of the claim for a TDIU. Consequently, a decision by the Board on both the claim for extended temporary total evaluation for convalescence and the claim for a TDIU would be premature, as well as those claims remaining inextricably intertwined the scar claim. See Tyrues v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 166, 177 (2009) (en banc) (claims are inextricably intertwined when adjudication of one claim could have significant impact on adjudication of another). See also Parker v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 116 (1994); Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). A remand is necessary to afford the Veteran initial review by the AOJ of the new evidence and for it accordingly to adjudicate. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and/or his representative for information pertaining to any current treatment for anterior abdominal scar at any VA facility and by any private treatment provider. Obtain any records of the above treatments not yet associated with the claims file and associate them with the claims file. The assistance of the Veteran and/or his representative should be requested in obtaining any records of recent treatment as indicated. All attempts to obtain records should be documented in the claims file. 2. After completing the above development and any other indicated development, inform the Veteran and his representative of the new evidence associated with the claims file since the AOJ’s last adjudication, then adjudicate the claims in light of all the evidence of record, including the evidence submitted or acquired since the last adjudication. If the benefits sought are not granted, provide the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case and allow an appropriate opportunity to respond before returning the case to the Board N. RIPPEL Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD P. Franke, Associate Counsel