Citation Nr: 20044945 Decision Date: 07/07/20 Archive Date: 07/07/20 DOCKET NO. 15-42 678A DATE: July 7, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to restoration of a 10 percent rating for left hand and knuckle disability is remanded. Entitlement to an increased rating for left hand and knuckle disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from September 1971 to August 1973. These issues come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2019 and February 2020, these issues were remanded for additional development. 1. Entitlement to restoration of a 10 percent rating for left hand and knuckle disability is remanded. 2. Entitlement to an increased rating for left hand and knuckle disability is remanded. A remand by the Board imposes upon the Secretary of VA a concomitant duty to ensure compliance with the terms of the remand. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). That duty requires substantial compliance with previous remand orders. D’Aries v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 97 (2008). As indicated by the Board’s August 2019 and February 2020 remands, it is unclear in the record which fingers on the left hand are service-connected. Disability of the ring or of the little finger is rated under Diagnostic Code (DC) 5230 of 38C.F.R. §4.71a. This DC authorizes a sole rating of 0 percent. In an unappealed May 2012 rating decision, the RO granted service connection for the little finger on the left hand (the 5th metacarpal). However, the RO did not rate the disorder under DC 5230. Instead, the RO rated the disorder under DC 5229, which applies to long or index fingers and authorizes a rating of 10 percent. The RO assigned a 10 percent rating effective January 10, 2011. In the February 2015 rating decision on appeal, the RO reduced the evaluation from 10 to 0 percent, citing medical evidence indicating improvement in the left little finger disability. In its decision to reduce the rating, the RO did not cite DC 5230 and its sole rating of 0 percent. Rather, the RO has continued to rely on DC 5229, which does not address the little finger. The Veteran has argued during the appeal period that he has multiple disorders on the left hand that should be service connected. It is not clear in the record that his full claim has been decided. Based on this information, the Board remanded this matter to the RO in August 2019 and in February 2020 to adjudicate the claim of entitlement to service connection for multiple finger disorders of the left hand and determine which DC or DCs should apply in this matter. To date, the RO has not adjudicated the service connection claim for multiple finger disorders of the left hand. The RO readjudicated the increased rating claim in February 2020. In the most recent communication received from the Veteran's representative is dated in May 2020. The representative argued the claim should include any finger or part of the hand that is disabled. The Board finds that there has not been substantial compliance with its previous remand orders. As such, these matters must be remanded again to the RO to adjudicate the claim of entitlement to service connection for multiple finger disorders of the left hand and determine which DC or DCs should apply in this matter. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: The Agency of Original Jurisdiction must adjudicate the intertwined claim of entitlement to service connection for multiple finger disorders on the left hand. Thereafter, readjudicate the issues concerning the propriety of the reduction in rating from 10 to 0 percent and concerning the claim for a compensable rating. William Yates Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Garcia 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.