Citation Nr: 18160115
Decision Date: 12/21/18	Archive Date: 12/21/18

DOCKET NO. 16-58 376
DATE:	December 21, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance or housebound status is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from October 1952 to October 1955.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  In October 2017, it was remanded for further development.
1. Entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance or housebound status is remanded.
Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board’s previous remand directives.  In October 2017, the Board remanded for a new VA examination and to obtain updated treatment records.  An October 2017 request for examination indicates there was some confusion regarding the Veteran’s address and phone number.  An October 2017 administrative note stated the scheduled examination was cancelled due to the Veteran’s refusal to attend.  There is no indication in the claims file whether and how he was notified.  The Veteran subsequently submittted several statements asserting he wished to attend an examination.  For these reasons, another remand is required to attempt to obtain a new examination.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998).
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from October 2018 to the present.
2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine his need for aid and attendance or his housebound status.
The Veteran is service-connected for the following disabilities: (1) PTSD, (2) chronic lumbosacral strain, (3) duodenal ulcer, and (4) renal hematuria.  The examiner should provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran is in need of regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities.  The examiner should specifically address the following:
(A) Is the Veteran unable to dress or undress himself and keep himself ordinarily clean and presentable?  Please explain any limitations he has in this regard due to his lumbar spine disability.
(B) Is the Veteran unable to successfully manage his medication?  Please explain any limitations he has in this regard due to his PTSD.
(C) Is he unable to feed himself through loss of coordination of upper extremities or through extreme weakness, or unable to attend to the wants of nature?
(D) Does he have incapacity, physical or mental, that requires care or assistance on a regular basis to protect him from hazards or dangers incident to his daily environment? 
(E) Does he have any disability that requires that he remain in bed? 
(F) Is he substantially confined to his dwelling and the immediate premises, and if so, is it reasonably certain that the disability or disabilities and resultant confinement will continue throughout his lifetime? 
(G) Does he require frequent adjustment of any special prosthetic or orthopedic appliances that cannot be done without aid?
 
Nathaniel J. Doan
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Dean, Counsel