Citation Nr: 21068488
Decision Date: 11/10/21	Archive Date: 11/10/21

DOCKET NO. 05-33 030
DATE: November 10, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) prior to March 6, 2021 is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 60 percent for PFB from March 6, 2021 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1991 to November 1999. 

At a February 2011 hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board), the Veteran testified before the undersigned.  This matter was most recently remanded by the Board in June 2021.

In a June 2021 remand, the Board included a remand directive stating "[o]btain the Veteran's outstanding VA treatment records.  This must include records of all treatment obtained through VA's Choice program and all records scanned into his electronic health record, including records from D.S.A."

Subsequent to this remand, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) did not obtain any outstanding VA treatment records.  In this regard, at the time of the June 2021 Board remand, VA treatment records had been last obtained in March 2021, with the most recent records dated in February 2021.  In addition, on remand, the AOJ also did not obtain "all treatment obtained through VA's Choice program and all records scanned into his electronic health record, including records from D.S.A."

In review, the June 2021 Board remand directed the AOJ to obtain outstanding VA treatment records, to specifically include records obtained through VA's choice program and scanned into the Veteran's electronic health record, and the AOJ did not obtain the requested records.  Remand is accordingly warranted to ensure substantial compliance with the June 2021 Board remand.  See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain the Veteran's outstanding VA treatment records. This must include records of all treatment obtained through VA's Choice program and all records scanned into his electronic health record, including records from D.S.A.  See December 3, 2020 VA Treatment Record (titled "NonVA Consult," stating "VistA Imaging - Scanned Document" and noting D.S.A.). 

 

K.A. KENNERLY

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.