Citation Nr: 21068719
Decision Date: 11/12/21	Archive Date: 11/12/21

DOCKET NO. 15-26 769
DATE: November 12, 2021

REMANDED

The claim for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus is remanded.

The claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of feet is remanded.

The claim for service connection for a right index finger disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service from June 1976 to November 1979.  A June 2019 Board decision denied service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the feet, and a right index finger disability.  The Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In April 2021, the Court issued a memorandum decision vacating the June 2019 Board decision and remanded the matters for further development and readjudication. 

The Court found that at his Board hearing in October 2018, the Veteran testified that he turned over a box of VA medical records to Dr. Bush (a private medical expert) with records dated back as early as 1982.  At that time the Veteran's claims file only contained about 100 pages of VA medical records covering period around 2011. In November 2018, the Veteran submitted over 2000 pages of VA medical records to VA with earliest record dated April 1994. The Court found the Board did not discuss whether VA had fulfilled its duty to assist to obtain outstanding VA medical records in light of the Veteran's submission of VA medical records.

The Court further found that at his Board hearing in October 2018, the Veteran testified that he was receiving Social Security disability benefits in part due to his diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. However, no Social Security records were contained in the Veteran's claims file.

Review of the records shows that VA last obtained VA treatment records in April 2013 covering records from 2011 to 2013. After the Veteran submitted VA treatment records in November 2018, no VA treatment records have been associated with the file. Review of the records also shows that in 2013, VA requested the Veteran's Social Security records but did not receive any records from the Social Security Administration (SSA). After the Veteran testified in October 2018 that he was receiving SSA Social Security disability benefits, no Social Security records have been associated with the file. As such, further development is warranted. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain VA treatment records from 1982 to the present. If certain records cannot be found, a determination of unavailability should be documented in the claims file. 

2. Obtain records from SSA relating to the Veteran's Social Security disability benefits. 

 

MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Q. Wang, Associate 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.