Citation Nr: 21000414 Decision Date: 01/05/21 Archive Date: 01/05/21 DOCKET NO. 16-45 873 DATE: January 5, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea, to include as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD), to include as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a thyroid condition, to include as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, to include as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection ventricular arrhythmias, to include as due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1979 to September 1981 and from November 1981 to November 1983. In August 2019, a Travel Board hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript is of record. In a decision issued in November 2019, the Board denied entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea, CAD, a thyroid condition, diabetes mellitus, and ventricular arrhythmia. The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In August 2020, the Court issued an Order that vacated the Board’s November 2019 decision and remanded the matter on appeal for adjudication consistent with the instructions outlined in a July 2020 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) by the parties. In the July 2020 JMR, it was noted that, during the August 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran indicated he had sought private treatment for the claimed conditions prior to receiving treatment from VA. As these records were not requested, the parties agreed that a remand was warranted to attempt to obtain the outstanding private treatment records. Consistent with the JMR, the Board finds that remand is warranted to attempt to obtain the Veteran’s private treatment records. The Board notes that the Veteran testified he began treatment at VA in 2011. Therefore, the private treatment record development should be limited to the period prior to 2012. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page)   With the Veteran’s assistance, obtain any outstanding records of pertinent medical treatment from private health care providers for the period prior to 2012. All reasonable attempts to obtain such records should be made and documented. If VA attempts to obtain any outstanding records which are unavailable, the Veteran should be notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board P. E. Metzner, 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.