Citation Nr: 21068847 Decision Date: 11/15/21 Archive Date: 11/15/21 DOCKET NO. 16-30 125 DATE: November 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for headaches, as secondary to service-connected other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder with sleep disturbances (hereinafter "psychiatric disability") or as due to Gulf War illness or exposures, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1988 to July 1992. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a June 2015 rating decision which, in pertinent part, denied service connection for headaches. In November 2018, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is of record. In June 2019, November 2020, and April 2021, the Board remanded this claim for additional development. Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. The Board finds that remand is required because the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) did not substantially comply with the April 2021 remand directives. See D'Aries v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 97, 105 (2008); Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The April 2021 remand instructed the AOJ to undertake appropriate efforts to obtain records from Ewing (New Jersey) Vet Center and provide the Veteran with an authorization form if the Vet Center required such a form to release records. The Veteran provided the authorization form, but the AOJ rejected the form because the Vet Center was not a private medical provider. The AOJ then took no action to obtain these records. Because Vet Center records are considered Federal records, the AOJ must make as many requests as are necessary to obtain records and can cease such efforts only if the AOJ determines that the records do not exist or that further efforts would be futile. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). On remand, the AOJ should obtain treatment records from the Ewing Vet Center or indicate that the records do not exist or that further efforts would be futile. The AOJ should also obtain an addendum opinion from the July 2021 VA examiner. The examiner opined that the etiology of the Veteran's headaches is from chemical exposure, specifically gasoline/hydrocarbon vapor. While the examiner stated that gasoline vapor is not considered a toxic Gulf War exposure, the examiner did not consider whether this etiology was related to the Veteran's service occupation as an aircraft mechanic, to include the July 2021 VA Form 21-4138 where the Veteran reported that he fixed fuel cells and lines without proper ventilation. Moreover, although the examiner opined that the Veteran's headaches were not secondary to service-connected psychiatric disability, the examiner did not have access to the Ewing Vet Center records. The examiner should review these records and indicate if they affect this opinion. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from August 2021 to the present. 2. Obtain the Veteran's treatment records from the Ewing (New Jersey) Vet Center. The AOJ must make as many requests as are necessary to obtain the records until the AOJ determines that the records do not exist or that further efforts would be futile. The AOJ should document the claims file if it determines that the records do not exist or that further efforts would be futile. 3. After the AOJ obtains records from the Ewing Vet Center or determines that the records do not exist or that further efforts would be futile, obtain an addendum opinion from the July 2021 VA examiner, if possible, or from an appropriate clinician. If the examiner believes that a new examination is necessary, schedule a new examination. The examiner must opine whether the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's service occupation as an aircraft mechanic. The examiner must consider the Veteran's lay statements, to include the July 2021 VA Form 21-4138 where the Veteran reported that he fixed fuel cells and lines without proper ventilation. If the AOJ obtains records from the Ewing Vet Center, the examiner must opine whether the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. (Continued on the next page.) The examiner must also opine whether the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not aggravated, i.e., worsened beyond its natural progression, by the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. K. Parakkal Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Ormson, 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.