Citation Nr: 21005108
Decision Date: 01/29/21	Archive Date: 01/29/21

DOCKET NO. 16-24 728
DATE: January 29, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for an abnormal mitral valve is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, served on active duty from June 1982 to June 2004.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions dated February 2015, November 2015, and August 2016 of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

By way of procedural background, this matter was previously before the Board in October 2018, April 2019, and May 2020.  

In an October 2018 decision, the Board remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability and for sleep apnea for additional development.  

In an April 2019 decision, the Board denied entitlement to service connection for an abnormal mitral valve.  

The Veteran timely appealed the Board’s April 2019 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in December 2019, the Court granted the parties’ Joint Motion for Remand, vacating and remanding the matter to the Board.  

In a May 2020 decision, the Board remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for an abnormal mitral valve for additional development.

1. Entitlement to service connection for an abnormal mitral valve is remanded.

2. Entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability is remanded.

3. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.

The Veteran asserts he is entitled to service connection for an abnormal mitral valve, a right shoulder disability, and for sleep apnea.  The Board finds that remand is necessary prior to appellate consideration.

The Board observes that VA medical records relevant to the Veteran’s claims were added to the claims file after the RO’s adjudication in Supplemental Statements of the Case (SSOCs) dated July 2020 and August 2020, without a waiver of initial RO consideration.  See VA treatment records received November 2020.  Consequently, in November 2020, the Board sent a letter to the Veteran (copying his representative) which informed him that additional evidence had been added to the claims file and that he had a right to have the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) review the evidence, or he could elect to waive AOJ consideration.  The letter also advised that the Veteran had 45 days from the date of the letter to respond, but if no response was received, the Board would remand the claims back to the AOJ for its initial consideration of the evidence.  To date, no response has been received from the Veteran.  As the 45-day period for a response has expired, and to afford the Veteran due process, the Board will remand the matters back to the AOJ for review.  See 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.31, 19.37.

Accordingly, the matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Review the evidence received since the July 2020 and August 2020 SSOCs, to include VA treatment records received November 2020.

2. Then, readjudicate the remanded claims on appeal.

 

 

S. B. MAYS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	C. M. Gill, 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.