Citation Nr: 21002454 Decision Date: 01/13/21 Archive Date: 01/13/21 DOCKET NO. 14-09 151 DATE: January 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty with the Air Force from December 1982 to December 1992; from August 12, to October 31, 2007; from November 5, to December 28, 2007; from January 8, to February 15, 2008; and from August 2008 to August 2009. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran was scheduled for a videoconference hearing in July 2019; she was sent a hearing notification letter in May 2019, which was not returned as undeliverable. The Veteran failed to appear for the scheduled hearing and has not since submitted good cause for failure to appear and/or asked for it to be rescheduled. As such, the Board deems the hearing request withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.702 (d).   Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus is remanded. The Veteran contends that although she has not been medically regulated in her activities, her diabetic symptoms ultimately regulate her activities. See Appellate Brief dated September 2020. Although the Board regrets the additional delay, a remand is necessary to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran’s claim so that she is afforded every possible consideration. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. The Veteran’s last VA medical examination occurred in February 2013. Based on the lapse in time from that examination, the actual severity of the Veteran’s service-connected disability is unclear. Additionally, in the September 2020 Appellate Brief, the Veteran indicated that her diabetes has worsened as she contends that her symptoms require regulation of activities. The Board notes that VA’s duty to assist requires VA to provide a contemporaneous medical examination when the Veteran asserts or the evidence indicates that the disability has worsened since the last VA examination or the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the disability. See Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 182-83 (2007); Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1994). As the Board is unable to make an accurate assessment of the Veteran’s current condition on the basis of the evidence currently of record, the Veteran must be afforded a contemporaneous examination. The Board also notes that the most recent VA treatment records that have been associated with the claims file are dated in March 2016. All relevant VA treatment records created since that time should be obtained and associated with the claims file. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from March 2016 to the present. 2. After the above-referenced development is completed, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of her service-connected diabetes mellitus. 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. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Hartford, 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.