Citation Nr: 21000198
Decision Date: 01/04/21	Archive Date: 01/04/21

DOCKET NO. 10-08 975
DATE: January 4, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of multiple joints is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from January 1960 to December 1963. 

This matter come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2008 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 

The Veteran testified at a hearing in June 2011 and again before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in August 2013. Transcripts of the hearings have been associated with the record. 

In an October 2015 decision, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to service connection for arthritis of multiple joints. The Veteran appealed the denial of his claim to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In a July 2017 order, the Court endorsed the parties’ Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) and vacated the Board’s July 2017 decision in regard to service connection for arthritis of multiple joints. The Court remanded the matter for action consistent with the terms of the JMPR. 

In July 2017 and December 2018, the claim was remanded for further development. This matter was last before the Board in March 2020, at which time the Veteran’s claim was again remanded. The Board finds that its remand instructions were not substantially complied with. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 

1. Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of multiple joints is remanded.

This matter was previously remanded in March 2020 for further development. As part of that development, the Board requested the RO to obtain an addendum opinion addressing whether the Veteran’s arthritis of multiple joints, to include palindromic rheumatism, is caused by or aggravated by the Veteran’s service-connected degenerative joint and disc diseases of the bilateral knees, cervical spine, or thoracolumbar spine.

The June 2020 addendum opinion only addressed whether the Veteran’s service connected degenerative joint and disc diseases of the bilateral knees, cervical spine, or thoracolumbar spine caused his arthritis of multiple joints, to include palindromic rheumatism. The examiner did not address whether the arthritis is aggravated by the cervical, thoracolumbar and knee conditions.

The Board finds that its remand instructions were not substantially complied with and therefore must remand the case again for an addendum opinion that addresses aggravation. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain an addendum opinion from the June 2020 clinician or from an appropriate clinician if the June 2020 clinician is unavailable. An in-person examination is unnecessary unless determined otherwise. The examiner is asked to opine whether the Veteran’s service-connected degenerative joint and disc diseases of the bilateral knees, cervical spine, or thoracolumbar spine aggravated his arthritis of multiple joints, to include palindromic rheumatism beyond its natural progression.

The examiner should provide a supporting rational for any opinions rendered.  

 

 

K. J. ALIBRANDO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Lang, Attorney Advisor

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.