Citation Nr: 20004701
Decision Date: 01/21/20	Archive Date: 01/21/20

DOCKET NO. 14-38 295
DATE: January 21, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for right upper extremity (RUE) carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for left upper extremity (LUE) carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2012 for the award of a 30 percent rating for RUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2012 for the award of a 20 percent rating for LUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1983 to January 1992. 

These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2013 rating decisions of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

A September 2018 Board decision grant a 30 percent rating for RUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy effective March 21, 2012, and a 20 percent rating for LUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy from March 21, 2012.  The Veteran appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), which granted in July 2019 a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) as to the denial of a rating in excess of 30 percent for the RUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy effective March 21, 2012, and a rating in excess of 20 percent for LUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy from March 21, 2012.

1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for RUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for LUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

3. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2012 for the award of a 30 percent rating for RUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

4. Entitlement to an effective date earlier than March 21, 2012 for the award of a 20 percent rating for LUE carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy is remanded.

Pursuant to the July 2019 JMPR, remand is necessary to (a) request outstanding treatment record from Valley Orthopedics; and (b) to obtain a new VA examination to ascertain the severity of his bilateral upper extremity nerve disabilities in view of evidence suggestive of material worsening.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for all non-VA medical providers seen for his upper extremity nerve disorders, to include those of Valley Orthopedics, since August 2010. Make two requests for the authorized records from all identified sources, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile.

2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome with peripheral neuropathy.  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.

3. Readjudicate.

 

 

C.A. SKOW

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. A. Macek, 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.