Citation Nr: 18146686 Decision Date: 11/01/18 Archive Date: 10/31/18 DOCKET NO. 14-24 952 DATE: November 1, 2018 REMANDED 1. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disability is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for left hip disability is remanded. 4. Entitlement to service connection for right hip disability is remanded. 5. Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability is remanded. 6. Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability is remanded. 7. Entitlement to service connection for left ankle disability is remanded. 8. Entitlement to service connection for right ankle disability is remanded. 9. Entitlement to service connection for left shoulder and arm disability is remanded 10. Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder and arm disability is remanded. 11. Entitlement to service connection for left elbow disability is remanded, 12. Entitlement to service connection for right elbow disability is remanded. 13. Entitlement to service connection for left wrist disability is remanded. 14. Entitlement to service connection for right wrist disability is remanded. 15. Entitlement to service connection for dyslipidemia is remanded. 16. Entitlement to service connection for cardiovascular disease to include hypertension is remanded. 17. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. 18. Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. 19. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is remanded. 20. Entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND As an initial matter, it is noted that some issues have been recharacterized to more broadly reflect the benefit sought by the Veteran on appeal. See Clemmons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). The record reflects that the Board remanded the above matters in March 2018. The Board instructed the RO to provide the Veteran with a statement of the case for the following issues: entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability; hypertensive cardiovascular disease; degenerative joint disease of the bilateral elbows, bilateral ankles, bilateral shoulders, bilateral knees, bilateral wrists, and bilateral hips; and dyslipidemia. In July 2018, the RO issued a statement of the case addressing the issues of entitlement to service connection for a left and right hip disability and entitlement to service connection for a left and right knee disability. However, the RO has still not issued a statement of the case for the remaining issues. Additionally, the March 2018 Remand instructed the RO to request the Veteran's records from the Social Security Administration and schedule the Veteran for VA examinations of his low back, bilateral upper extremities, acquired psychiatric disability, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The record discloses no indication that the requested development has been accomplished. A remand by the Board imposes upon the Secretary of VA a concomitant duty to ensure compliance with the terms of the remand. Where remand orders of the Board are not complied with, the Board errs in failing to insure compliance. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Therefore, remand is required to ensure substantial compliance with the terms of the Board’s March 2018 remand. See Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 146-47 (1999). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Send the Veteran and his representative a Statement of the Case that addresses the issues of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability; hypertensive cardiovascular disease; bilateral wrist disability, bilateral elbow disability, bilateral shoulder disability, bilateral ankle disability, and dyslipidemia. 2. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from November 2015 to the Present. 3. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for Dr. CMQ and any other non-VA medical provider Make two requests for the treatment records identified in the authorized release form(s), unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 4. Obtain the Veteran’s federal records from the Social Security Administration (SSA), including all medical records related to his claim for disability benefits. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. 5. Schedule the Veteran for examinations by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of any lumbar spine disability, acquired psychiatric disability, and bilateral upper extremity disability. For each identified disability, the examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. 6. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to hearing loss and tinnitus alone and discuss the effect of the Veteran’s hearing disability on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living. (Continued on the next page)   7. Readjudicate. C.A. SKOW Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E. D. Anderson, Counsel