Citation Nr: 21067889
Decision Date: 11/05/21	Archive Date: 11/05/21

DOCKET NO. 17-28 781A
DATE: November 5, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a compensable rating for Raynaud's syndrome is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 2009 to April 2014.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In July 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing.  The transcript of that hearing has been associated with the Veteran's claims file.  

Entitlement to a compensable rating for Raynaud's syndrome is remanded.

A review of the record indicates that the Veteran last received an examination for his disability in May 2014.  Moreover, the Board notes that the available treatment records are inadequate to properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran's disability.  In this regard, VA's duty to assist includes providing a new medical examination when the available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the current disorder and the disability may have worsened.  Thus, for the above stated reasons, the Board finds a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous examination to determine the current severity of his disability.  See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that, where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant's disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records from August 24, 2021, to the present.  

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to evaluate the severity of his Raynaud's syndrome, to include all neurological manifestations of the disability.  

 

 

Michael J. Skaltsounis

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Rescan, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.