Citation Nr: 21004933 Decision Date: 01/28/21 Archive Date: 01/28/21 DOCKET NO. 17-59 778 DATE: January 28, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for constant chest pain, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded Entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded Entitlement to service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 2003 to April 2004, to include service in Southwest Asia Theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. He also had additional service of an unverified nature from November 1987 to April 1988. In September 2018 and December 2019, the Board remanded the issues on appeal for additional development. 1. Entitlement to service connection for constant chest pain, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded 2. Entitlement to service connection for fibromyalgia, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded 3. Entitlement to service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, to include as due to undiagnosed illness, is remanded. As noted in the December 2019 Board remand, these appealed issues are intertwined with others currently pending before the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). In September 2018, the Board remanded the claims addressed here for additional development. In that action, the Board also denied claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, a bilateral foot disorder to include plantar fasciitis, and lumbar spondylosis. The Veteran appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a May 2019 joint motion for partial remand (JMPR) filed by the parties to this matter, the Court vacated and remanded the three issues (headaches, feet, back). In response, the Board then remanded these issues to the RO in August 2019. The JMPR stated that the claim for headaches was intertwined with the claim for fibromyalgia to the extent that each claim is based in part of the assertion that the disorders are due to Gulf War Syndrome. In the August 2019 remand, the Board requested additional development into the claims regarding headache, foot, and back disorders. The claims file indicates that an exam schedule request for the headache, foot, and back disorders was made on September 23, 2020. As recent as October 2020, a deferred rating (VA Form 21-6789) reports that these examinations still have not been completed. As the Board previously noted, in VA examination reports, the claims regarding headaches, back, foot, and chest disorders are addressed alongside the claims regarding CFS and fibromyalgia. Inasmuch as each of these claims is based in part on the assertion that Gulf War Syndrome is the cause of disability, each of the claims in intertwined and should be addressed together. See Smith v. Gober, 236 F.3d. 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2001). Accordingly, adjudication of these claims must be deferred until the development with the RO is completed. The Board notes that the in its previous remand, in December 2019, the remand instructions specifically provided to undertake the above development pursuant to the JMPR and August 2019 remand, before readjudicating the claims for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chest pain. To that extent, the Board must, also remand these claims to ensure compliance with the previous remand. 1. Once development pursuant to the August 2019 remand has been conducted into the claims of entitlement to service connection for headache, foot, and back disorders, readjudicate the claims of entitlement to service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chest pain. If warranted, then return the appealed claims to the Board. SCOTT W. DALE Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Wade 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.