Citation Nr: 21061913 Decision Date: 10/05/21 Archive Date: 10/05/21 DOCKET NO. 14-12 492 DATE: October 5, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for bilateral blindness on the basis of substitution is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1979 to July 1983. He died in November 2017, and the appellant is seeking benefits as his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2012 rating decision. The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in June 2017. A transcript is of record. In December 2017, the Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal due to his death. In a June 2018 decision, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) recognized the appellant as a valid substitute claimant for the appeal. In September 2018 and September 2020, the Board remanded the case for further development. The case has since been returned to the Board for appellate review. In the September 2020 remand, the Board directed the AOJ to secure any outstanding VA treatment records located in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) or Vista Imaging System, including signed consent forms that were referenced in the Veteran's VA treatment records. The Board also directed that, if the search for such records yielded negative results, the claims file should be properly documented as to the unavailability of the records. The record reflects that the AOJ requested copies of signed VA treatment records pertaining to the Veteran's 2004, 2005, and 2008 VA eye surgeries and laser procedures, to include signed consent forms. The AOJ also requested VA treatment records dated in December 2003, January 2004, May 2005, December 2007, and April 2008. In November 2020, the AOJ obtained a signed copy of February 2004 VA discharge instructions. It was also noted in a December 2020 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) that VA medical records were obtained from December 31, 2003, through October 31, 2008. However, those records only note that consent was given and that the forms are available in another database. There is no indication that further action was taken to obtain any outstanding signed consent forms. Nor is there any documentation that such forms are unavailable. For these reasons, the Board finds that a remand is necessary to obtain copies of any outstanding records in compliance with the previous remand. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998) (holding that a remand by the Board confers upon the claimant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand order). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should obtain any outstanding VA medical records located in the CPRS or Vista Imaging Systems, including any records pertaining to the 2004, 2005, and 2008 VA eye surgeries and laser procedures. It appears that signed consent forms were scanned into the CPRS or Vista Imaging Systems that have not been associated with the claims file. A request for signed consent forms should also be made to any other database/VA facility that may have these documents. See, e.g., VA treatment records from December 2003 and January 2004 (noted signed consent placed in chart) and May 2005, December 2007, and April 2008 (noted full consent document available in the Vista Imaging System). If the search for such records has negative results, the claims file should be properly documented as to the unavailability of those records. 2. After completing the above action, the AOJ should conduct any other indicated development. Further development may include obtaining an additional VA medical opinion if necessary. See September 2012 VA medical opinion. J.W. ZISSIMOS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Wulff, 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.