Citation Nr: 21063502 Decision Date: 10/14/21 Archive Date: 10/14/21 DOCKET NO. 16-57 896 DATE: October 14, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for a pulmonary disorder, to include chronic bronchitis, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1969 to December 1973. The Board thanks him for his service to our country. In July 2019, the Board remanded the claim for additional development. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Service connection for a pulmonary disorder, to include chronic bronchitis, is remanded. The Board remands this issue to obtain an adequate medical opinion that complies with the July 2019 remand. The July 2019 remand requested a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran has a pulmonary disability, to include chronic bronchitis, that is caused by or otherwise related to his active service. The remand specified that the Veteran's service treatment records document that in January 1970 he presented with "sore throat, fever, productive cough, and malaise" and was diagnosed with bronchitis. The remand also specified that the Veteran reported that he had experienced ongoing symptoms since service, citing his April 2015 Statement in Support of Claim. At this time, the Board additionally observes that in December 2014 correspondence the Veteran also stated that his bronchitis started during service and had continued to that day. A March 2020 negative VA Medical Opinion fails to acknowledge or address the significance of the January 1970 diagnosis of bronchitis. The Medical Opinion also fails to acknowledge the Veteran's December 2014 and April 2015 statements that he had bronchitis during service and has had it ever since separation to the present. See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23 (2007) (holding that an examination must consider lay evidence of in-service incurrence or continuity of symptomatology since service). On remand, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) must obtain an adequate VA medical opinion. Since the Board is remanding this claim, the AOJ should update the Veteran's e-folder to include all outstanding VA treatment records. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Please obtain copies of all outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Then, after the foregoing records development is completed, please obtain an addendum opinion from the individual who provided the March 2020 opinion or another appropriate clinician regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's pulmonary disorder. The clinician must review the e-folder. The clinician should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or more) that the Veteran's current pulmonary disability, identified as chronic bronchitis and COPD, is related to the bronchitis diagnosed in his STRs with consideration of the Veteran's statements that his bronchitis began during service and symptoms have continued to the present. The physician should consider and discuss as necessary that (a) the Veteran's service treatment records show that in January 1970 he presented with "sore throat, fever, productive cough, and malaise" and was diagnosed with bronchitis; and (b) in December 2014 and April 2015 correspondence the Veteran reported his bronchitis began during service and has continued to the present. The clinician must provide a complete rationale for any opinion expressed. If the clinician cannot provide an opinion without resort to speculation, the clinician should provide an explanation as to why this is so and identify what, if any, additional evidence would permit an opinion to be made. A new examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc., if an in-person examination is not feasible) should be scheduled only if deemed necessary by the clinician. M. C. GRAHAM Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Davitian, 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.