Citation Nr: 21073837 Decision Date: 12/10/21 Archive Date: 12/10/21 DOCKET NO. 18-30 001 DATE: December 10, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from March 1966 to April 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2016 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran and his wife presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in November 2021. The Board notes that a claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is part of an increased rating claim when such claim is raised by the record. Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009). However, here the evidence reveals that the Veteran has not reported that his service-connected disability on appeal precludes substantially gainful employment. See Hearing Testimony, November 2021. Therefore, the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is not before the Board. 1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for non-hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded. During the November 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified that his disability has worsened. The Veteran stated that he has recurrent skin problems, including boils on his skin, and that he cannot go out in the sun or drink alcohol. He also reported that his scars are sometimes painful, and he worries about recurrence as it was such a "scary thing." The Veteran's wife testified that the Veteran has chronic fatigue, and she worries that the Veteran has cancer when he experiences pain. Further, the Veteran's representative referred to "mental issues" during the hearing. Given the Veteran's testimony, and as the most recent VA examination is from June 2017, the Board finds that a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected disability. See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). In addition, in Morgan v. Wilkie, 31 Vet. App. 162 (2019), the Court held, "VA has powerful, ready-made schedular rating tools with which it can better adjudicate claims that include symptoms and effects not contemplated by an applicable diagnostic code." Morgan, 31 Vet. App. at 167. Indeed, the Court stated doing so was necessary to ensure a veteran is appropriately compensated before resorting to § 3.321(b)'s extraschedular provisions. In doing so, the Court held this included secondary service connection. Id; see also Bailey v. Wilkie, 33 Vet. App. 188, 203 (2021); Long v. Wilkie, 33 Vet. App. 167, 174 (2020) (en banc). In light of the hearing testimony, the Board finds that further information is necessary to properly rate, on a schedular basis, all of the manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in this case, to include any psychiatric impairments, skin problems, including painful scars, and fatigue, and/or manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. As such, on remand, a medical opinion should be obtained to determine any diagnoses the Veteran may have, to include any psychiatric impairments, skin problems, including painful scars, and fatigue, and whether they are proximately due to his service-connected Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Morgan; Bailey; Long. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding treatment records. 2. Notify the Veteran that he may submit lay statements from himself and from other individuals who have first-hand knowledge, and/or were contemporaneously informed of his in-service or post service symptomatology regarding his Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and any related symptomatology, to include psychiatric impairment, fatigue, and skin problems. 3. The Veteran should be provided an appropriate amount of time to submit this lay evidence. 4. Schedule the Veteran for the appropriate VA examinations (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc. if an in-person examination is not feasible) to ascertain the current nature, extent, and severity of his Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The examiner must identify any additional impairment as well as the nature, extent, and severity of the disability. The examiner must also comment on the nature, extent, and severity of the Veteran's scar related to his service-connected non-hodgkin's lymphoma, to include the size of any scar and whether any scar is painful. 5. Schedule the Veteran for appropriate examinations (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc. if an in-person examination is not feasible) to determine if it is at least as likely as not that he has any psychiatric disability, fatigue, or skin problem, that was caused or aggravated by his service-connected Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The examiner should diagnose all disabilities, and in particular all psychiatric disabilities, found to be present. A diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome must be ruled in or excluded. The examiner must specifically address the Veteran's testimony regarding his skin problems, fatigue, and psychiatric impairment. Full rationale must be provided for the opinions expressed. If an opinion cannot be expressed without resorting to speculation, the provider must state the reasons why resort to speculation would be necessary. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Sara Leigh, Attorney Advisor 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.