Citation Nr: 18147583 Decision Date: 11/05/18 Archive Date: 11/05/18 DOCKET NO. 15-04 214 DATE: November 5, 2018 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a thyroid disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from December 1973 to December 1977; from September 1983 to October 1988; and from December 1990 to June 1991. The Veteran served in Southwest Asia. The Veteran appeared at a July 2018 hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at the St. Petersburg, Florida, Regional Office. A hearing transcript is of record. In a January 2015 Veteran’s Supplemental Claim for Compensation, VA Form 21 526b, the Veteran sought service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. In a December 2016 Veteran’s Supplemental Claim for Compensation, VA Form 21 526b, the Veteran sought service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claimed as the result of Gulf War toxic exposure. In an August 2018 Veteran’s Supplemental Claim for Compensation, VA Form 21 526b, the Veteran sought service connection for a left elbow skin disability. The issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claims of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claimed as the result of Gulf War toxic exposure and service connection for a left elbow skin disability have not been adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction. Therefore, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) does not have jurisdiction over those issues. Those issues are referred to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction for appropriate action. 38 C.F.R. § 19.9 (b). On and after March 24, 2015, claims for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits are to be submitted on the appropriate claims form. 38 C.F.R. § 3.155. At the July 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran made contentions which may be reasonably construed as seeking to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a right elbow disability. The Veteran should be provided with the appropriate claim form in order to submit an application to reopen service connection for a right elbow disability if he desires. The issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a service connected thyroid disability is remanded. The Veteran asserts that an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a service connected thyroid disability is warranted. At the July 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that the service connected disability had increased in severity and necessitated ongoing private medical treatment. He denied receiving any VA treatment for the thyroid disability. A July 2018 written statement from A. Shrestha, M.D., states that physician had treated the Veteran’s service connected thyroid disability since September 2015. The doctor stated that the service connected thyroid disability fluctuated and was difficult to keep stable. Clinical documentation of the cited private treatment is not of record. VA should obtain all relevant private treatment records which could potentially be helpful in resolving the Veteran’s claim. Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 78 (1990); Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). The Veteran was last provided a VA thyroid examination in December 2010. VA’s duty to assist includes, in appropriate cases, the duty to conduct a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination which is accurate and fully descriptive. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991). Because of Dr. Shrestha’s comments as to the nature of the service connected thyroid disability and the passage of over seven years since the December 2010 VA examination, the Board finds that further VA evaluation is needed to determine the current nature and severity of the service connected thyroid disability. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for each private healthcare provider, including A. Shrestha, M.D., who has treated him for the service connected thyroid disability. Make two requests for the authorized records from all identified healthcare providers unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA thyroid examination to ascertain the current nature and severity of the service connected thyroid disability. The examiner must review the record and should note that review in the report. A rationale for all opinions should be provided. The examiner should opine as to the effects of thyroid disability on the pertinent appropriate body systems. The examiner should describe all symptoms and effects of the service-connected thyroid disability, to include any cardiovascular, neurologic, visual, weight loss, or mental symptoms. Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. T. Hutcheson, Counsel