Citation Nr: 18147582 Decision Date: 11/06/18 Archive Date: 11/05/18 DOCKET NO. 14-14 987 DATE: November 6, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a wart of the scalp is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for the service-connected callous and scar of the right great toe is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Army from December 1975 to December 1978. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2012 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran requested a Board hearing on his April 2014 substantive appeal, but in a January 2015 written statement, the Veteran withdrew this request. Therefore, the Board considers the hearing request withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. 20.704(d). 1. Entitlement to service connection for a wart of the scalp is remanded. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in December 2012, at which the examiner opined that the wart currently found on the Veteran’s scalp was not related to the wart he reported having had treated in service because there was no mention of warts in the Veteran’s service treatment records. Thus, the examiner appears to have impermissibly dismissed the Veteran’s complaints of warts in service solely because those complaints were not corroborated by corresponding medical treatment records. See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23, 39-40 (2007); see also Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (that reports of symptomatology are not supported by contemporaneous clinical evidence does not render them inherently not credible). A new examination is necessary to adequately address all of the Veteran’s statements regarding the wart he developed during service and any subsequent treatment. 2. Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for the service-connected callus and scar of the right great toe is remanded. The Veteran’s callus and scar have been assigned a noncompensable evaluation under Diagnostic Code 7819, which is rated using criteria related to scarring or impairment of function. The Veteran has submitted several written statements describing functional impairment, including difficulty with weightbearing and pain on repetitive use. The RO has identified development related to a claim for a musculoskeletal condition of the right great toe that it intends to pursue, which would elicit evidence relevant to the impairment of function. The Board further notes that the most recent examination focused solely on the left foot, and does not provide evidence relevant to any functional impairment of the right great toe. Accordingly, a new examination is necessary to determine the current nature and severity of any functional impairment of the right great toe. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination with an appropriate clinician to determine whether the wart on his scalp and any related residuals are related to his military service. The claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner in conjunction with the examination. Following review of the claims file and examination of the Veteran, the examiner should identify all skin conditions currently found on the Veteran’s scalp, and any residuals thereof. For each skin condition identified, the examiner should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the disability began in or is otherwise caused by the Veteran’s active service. The examiner must address the Veteran’s lay statements regarding continuity of symptomatology since onset and/or since separation from service. The examiner should address any other pertinent evidence of record. All findings must be reported in detail and all opinions must be accompanied by a clear rationale. If any of the above issues cannot be resolved without resorting to speculation, then a detailed medical explanation as to why this is so must be provided. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination with an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and current severity of his service-connected callus and scar of the right great toe. The examiner should comment upon any functional impairment due to the scar and callus, which should be distinguished, if possible, from any functional impairment due to other conditions of the right great toe and/or right foot. All findings must be reported in detail and all opinions must be accompanied by a clear rationale. If any of the above issues cannot be resolved without resorting to speculation, then a detailed medical explanation as to why this is so must be provided. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Josey, Associate Counsel