Citation Nr: 18150022 Decision Date: 11/14/18 Archive Date: 11/14/18 DOCKET NO. 99-08 717 DATE: November 14, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for scars of the toes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for soft-tissue sarcoma is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The appellant is a veteran (the Veteran) who had active duty service from June 1976 to June 1980. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a March 2017 Order of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (Veterans Court). The appeal originated from a July 2008 rating decision of the RO in Atlanta, Georgia. In a December 2014 decision, the Board denied claims of entitlement to service connection for disorders of the cervical and lumbar spine, which had been previously vacated and remanded by the Veterans Court. The Board also remanded claims of entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 6, 1998, for the grant of service connection for cold injury residuals with Raynaud’s syndrome of the bilateral feet, and for pes planus, as well as a claim of entitlement to an initial rating for pes planus in excess of 10 percent. The Remand requested issuance of a Statement of the Case for those claims. The Veteran appealed the denial of service connection for cervical and lumbar disorders to the Veterans Court. In an April 2016 Memorandum Decision, the Board’s December 2014 decision was affirmed by the Veterans Court in its entirety. In a May 2015 decision, the Board granted service connection for prostatic epididymitis, but denied service connection for a chronic disorder manifested by pain in multiple joints, a bilateral shoulder disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder, glaucoma, hypertension, a sinus disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, soft-tissue sarcoma, scars of the toes, a dental disorder for compensation purpose, and a dental disorder for treatment purposes. In May 2015, the Board again remanded the four claims previously remanded, for issuance of a Statement of the Case, as no action had yet been taken. The Veteran subsequently perfected appeals of those claims. Also in May 2015, the Board remanded claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus for issuance of a Statement of the Case. The Veteran did not perfect appeals of those claims. The Veteran appealed the May 2015 Board decision to the Veterans Court. In a single-judge decision dated March 2017, Veterans Court vacated the Board’s May 2015 decision to the extent it denied service connection for (1) soft-tissue sarcoma and (2) scars of the toes, and remanded those claims back to the Board for development consistent with the decision. The Veterans Court affirmed the Board’s denial of service connection for a chronic disorder manifested by pain in multiple joints, a bilateral shoulder disorder, an acquired psychiatric disorder, glaucoma, hypertension, a sinus disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, a dental disorder for compensation purpose, and a dental disorder for treatment purposes. The Veteran filed a motion for a panel decision of the Veterans Court, which was granted; however, the Veterans Court panel found no prejudicial error in the March 2017 single-judge memorandum decision, which was upheld. In May 2017, the Board granted earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for bilateral Raynaud’s syndrome, denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for pes planus, denied an increased disability rating for pes planus, and denied a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disabilities (TDIU). In that decision, the Board addressed the claims of entitlement to service connection for a soft tissue sarcoma and scars on the toes only by reference, as the Veterans Court had not yet issued mandate on those matters. The Veteran submitted a motion for reconsideration of the Board’s May 2017 decision; and in January 2018, the motion was denied. The Veteran initiated several additional appeals of Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) determinations in 2017. However, he withdrew those appeals in June 2018 in favor of a supplemental claim under the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP). Accordingly, the claims of entitlement to service connection for (1) soft-tissue sarcoma and (2) scars of the toes, ar the only matters remaining on appeal to the Board. Entitlement to service connection for scars of the toes is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for soft-tissue sarcoma is remanded. Since the most recent adjudication of these claims by the AOJ in 2011, both VA and the Veteran have added a substantial amount of additional relevant evidence to the claims file. In correspondence dated July 10, 2018, and September 4, 2018, the Board informed the Veteran of the additional evidence and offered him the opportunity to provide a waiver of initial consideration of this evidence by the AOJ. The Veteran was informed that, if he did not respond to these requests within 45 days, the Board would remand the appeal to the AOJ for initial adjudication of this evidence. The Veteran did not respond to either letter. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Readjudicate the remanded claims of entitlement to service connection for soft-tissue sarcoma, and entitlement to service connection for scars of the toes. If either benefit sought on appeal is not granted, the Veteran should be provided a supplemental statement of the case and an appropriate time period for response. The case should then be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration, if otherwise in order. JONATHAN B. KRAMER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD L. Cramp