Citation Nr: 21074433 Decision Date: 12/15/21 Archive Date: 12/15/21 DOCKET NO. 16-46 720 DATE: December 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased initial rating for diabetes mellitus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1969 to September 1971. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2007 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Board notes the Veteran's September 2016 VA Form 9 indicated that the Veteran wished to have a Board hearing. A March 2019 Board hearing was scheduled and postponed. Additional hearings were scheduled in June 2021 which was postponed and in September 2021 in which the Veteran did not appear. In September 2021, the Veteran's representative indicated that the Veteran wished to have a 30-day extension to file a written brief in lieu of a hearing. The 30-day extension was granted but no brief was submitted. Based on the above, the Board finds the Veteran's request for a hearing withdrawn and finds it may proceed with adjudication. Despite the additional and regrettable delay, a remand is required because the most recent VA treatment records within the claims file are from May 2016. These records are more than five years old, and the Board is unable to determine the severity of the Veteran's disability without contemporaneous VA treatment records. Additionally, the most recent VA examination for the Veteran's condition was in December 2014. That examination did not address whether the Veteran's inability to drive a commercial truck was a medically necessary regulation of activity (avoidance of strenuous occupational and recreational activities). 38 CFR Ch. I, Pt. 4; Camacho v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 360 (U.S. 2007). Accordingly, a remand is required for a new VA examination. The Board notes for the AOJ that the Veteran's representative has made it known to the Board that the Veteran "lives off the grid" and deals with severe anxiety due to Covid-19. All reasonable efforts should be made to accommodate these concerns of the Veteran and additional efforts may be necessary to contact and schedule the Veteran for an examination or telehealth interview. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should obtain copies of VA treatment records from May 2016 to the present. 2. After the development in the first directive is completed, the AOJ should arrange for an examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, or other means, if an in-person examination is not feasible) of the Veteran to assess the current severity of his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The examiner must review the entire record (including this remand) in conjunction with the examination and note such review was conducted. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms associated with the Veteran's disability. The examiner is reminded that the Veteran is competent to provide information about observable symptoms and events. The examiner should assume, for the purposes of the opinions, that the Veteran's reports are both accurate and credible. The examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's inability to drive a commercial truck is a medically necessary regulation of activity to avoid a strenuous occupational activity, 3. The AOJ should send the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). David Gratz Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Williams, 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.