Citation Nr: 18146738
Decision Date: 11/01/18	Archive Date: 10/31/18

DOCKET NO. 16-39 435
DATE:	November 1, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for sinusitis is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from May 1970 to September 1970, and served in the Georgia Army National Guard. 
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) from a February 2013 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Atlanta, GA. The February 2013 rating decision denied the Veteran’s claim for service connection for sinusitis. The Veteran filed a timely Notice of Disagreement.
In June 2016, RO issued a Statement of the Case denying the claim because the Veteran did not have a currently diagnosed disability. The Veteran perfected his appeal to the Board in VA Form 9 on July 2016. 
1. Entitlement to service connection for sinusitis is remanded.
As a preliminary matter, the Board notes that the RO’s determination that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of sinusitis is imprecise. While the Veteran’s sinusitis condition improved after he underwent a surgical procedure in 2003, the record shows that the Veteran’s diagnosis of moderate maxillary sinusitis remains.
The Veteran states that he had sinus problems in-service. Review of the Veteran’s medical records reflects a history of sinus problems and treatment in-service and after separation. Based on the evidence and a concession made by the RO in a June 2016 rating decision, which found that the Veteran was on ACDUTRA on August 9, 1973, the Board finds that the evidence of record demonstrates in-service occurrence of sinusitis. The Veteran has asserted that the current condition has been present since service. However, there is a lack of competent medical evidence necessary to establish a nexus between the condition and the Veteran’s service, therefore a remand is necessary to provide the Veteran with a VA examination for his sinusitis. McClendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006).
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain and associate with the Veteran’s claims file any outstanding VA records regarding the Veteran’s sinusitis claim.
2. Next, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's sinusitis. 
The VA examiner should review the claims folder and then offer the following opinion with supporting rationale:
Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the claimed sinusitis was incurred in or caused by active service? 
In answering this question, the VA examiner should note and discuss the service treatment records from the Veteran's August 9, 1973 service treatment record noting treatment for a "fever and sinus condition", post-service treatment records reflecting the Veteran's history of sinus problems/sinusitis, and consider the Veteran’s lay statements. 
 
 
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	E. Steele, Associate Counsel