Citation Nr: 20000043
Decision Date: 01/02/20	Archive Date: 01/02/20

DOCKET NO. 16-10 031
DATE: January 2, 2020

REMANDED

The issue of a rating in excess of 20 percent for right heel osteomyelitis is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1972 to August 1974.  

This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

This case was previously before the Board in September 2018, on which occasion the issue of an increased rating for right heel osteomyelitis was remanded.  Pursuant to the Board Remand directives, the Veteran was scheduled for a VA examination in June 2019 but did not appear. See July 2019, No Show notice.

In September 2019, the Veteran contends that he is suffering from severe mental health issues, his right heel is getting worse, and an abscess is forming near his right heel. See September 2019, VA form 9. The Board, therefore, finds the Veteran’s contention that he is having severe mental health issues is good cause to reschedule the VA examination. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.655; Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997); Negrin v. Shinseki, 2013 U.S. App. Vet. Claims LEXIS 1783 (vacating a Board decision denying benefits for missing a scheduled VA examination when the Board failed to consider the circumstances surrounding the veteran’s failure to appear and whether good cause existed). 

The Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), accordingly, should schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine current severity of the Veteran’s service-connected right heel osteomyelitis.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain all outstanding records of VA evaluation and/or treatment records of the Veteran since May 2019.

2. After completing directive #1, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected right heel osteomyelitis. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to right heel osteomyelitis and discuss the effect of the Veteran’s right heel osteomyelitis on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living.

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The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report his symptoms and history, and such reports must be specifically acknowledged and considered in formulating any opinions.

 

JAMES L. MARCH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Straughn, Associate Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.