Citation Nr: 20022017
Decision Date: 03/30/20	Archive Date: 03/30/20

DOCKET NO. 98-16 078A
DATE: March 30, 2020

REMANDED

A rating in excess of 30 percent for a neck disability, characterized as Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (IVDS) for the period from February 2, 1998 to January 12, 2006, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU), is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1969 to April 1971.

1. A rating in excess of 30 percent for a neck disability, characterized as Intervertebral Disc Syndrome (IVDS) for the period from February 2, 1998 to January 12, 2006, is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a rating of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU), is remanded.

The Veteran has sought an increased rating for a neck disability during the period between February 2, 1998 and January 12, 2006, additionally, he has sought entitlement to a rating of total disability based on individual unemployability. 

This matter returns to the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) following a lengthy procedural history.  The Veteran timely appealed a 1998 rating decision, during the pendency of the Veteran’s present claim, there have been several remand decisions issued by the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board), and multiple decisions issued by the Court of Appeals for Veteran’s Claims (CAVC).  The most recent of which was a May 2018 remand decision issued by the Board; the remand directed the Regional Office (RO) to undertake the following: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records since July 2016 and associate them with the Veteran’s claims file; 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the severity of his cervical spine disability; 3. The RO should contact the Veteran and request the submission of VA form 21-8940; 4. The RO should refer the Veteran’s claims to the Director of Compensation and Pension service for extraschedular consideration under 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.321 and 4.16(b); and 5. The RO should readjudicate the Veteran’s claims and if they remain denied, issue the Veteran a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and then return them to the Board for appellate review. 

The Board observes that the RO complied with the instructions of the May 2018 Board remand, to obtain medical records, which were identified and associated with the Veteran’s claims file, including some identified by the Veteran; the RO scheduled the Veteran for the specified examinations; and the above claims were referred to the Director for Compensation and Pension for consideration and were then remanded back to the RO.  However, the RO did not readjudicate the claims, or issue the Veteran an SSOC as directed by the May 2018 Board remand, even though the RO has issued rating decisions in the intervening time between the May 2018 remand and the present day.  Therefore, a remand is required for further adjudication of these issues and issuance of a SSOC.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. The RO should take any other development deemed necessary to readjudicate the Veteran’s claims for an increased rating for his service-connected neck disability during the period from February 2, 1998 to January 12, 2006, and for entitlement to TDIU;

2. If the claims are not fully granted, an SSOC should be issued, and the claims file should be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration

 

 

B.T. KNOPE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Q. Hernan, Associate Counsel