Citation Nr: 21005142
Decision Date: 01/29/21	Archive Date: 01/29/21

DOCKET NO. 17-05 887
DATE: January 29, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1966 to April 1968 in the United States Army, to include active duty service in the Republic of Vietnam.

The Board remanded the claim in  April 2020. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand directives and the claim must be remanded again. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Subsequent to the remand, service connection was granted for “posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.”  See November 2020 rating decision. This is considered a full grant of the Veteran’s claims for entitlement to service connection for PTSD and an anxiety disorder and those issues are no longer before the Board.

Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded.

The claim must be remanded again because the October 2020 VA opinion is inadequate. The examiner concluded that the Veteran does not have a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, type II, but did not address the specific information the Board identified in the previous remand.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain a medical opinion that addresses whether the Veteran is diagnosed with diabetes. Copies of all pertinent records must be made available to the examiner for review.  If the examiner determines that an opinion cannot be provided without an examination, one should be scheduled. 

Based on a review of the record (and examination if needed), the examiner must answer the following:  

Does the Veteran have a diagnosis of diabetes? In answering this, the examiner must specifically discuss (i) the distinction between diabetes or impaired fasting glucose (if any) and (ii) how the previous separate conclusions were reached when using the same 5.8 Hemoglobin A1C value. 

A complete rationale must be provided for any opinion offered. If an opinion cannot be provided, the examiner must specifically say why.

 

M.E. Larkin

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P.S. McLeod

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.