Citation Nr: 21076176
Decision Date: 12/22/21	Archive Date: 12/22/21

DOCKET NO. 12-28 621
DATE: December 22, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for flat feet is remanded.  

Entitlement to service connection for a skin disability is remanded.  

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service from April 1994 to April 1998.  

The Veteran appeared at a May 2018 videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.  The hearing transcript is of record.  In October 2021, the Veteran was notified that the Veterans Law Judge who conducted the May 2018 hearing was no longer employed by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) and he had the right to another Board hearing.  The Veteran did not respond to the Board's notice.  

Entitlement to service connection for flat feet and a skin disability is remanded.  

Additional relevant Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) treatment records were received in June 2021.  In October 2021, the Board informed the Veteran of the receipt of the additional VA clinical documentation and informed him of his right to waiver initial review of the clinical documentation by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction.  The notice stated that if a response was not received within 45 days, it would be presumed that the Veteran did not wish to waive such review.  The Veteran did not respond to the Board's notice.  

The Board may not consider additional evidence without prior Agency of Original Jurisdiction review in the absence of a waiver of such review by the Veteran.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Readjudicate the issues of entitlement to service connection for flat feet and a skin disability.  If any benefit sought remains denied, the Veteran should be provided a supplemental statement of the case which addresses all relevant actions taken on the claims, to include a summary of the evidence considered, since the issuance of the last supplemental statement of the case.  An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response before the case is returned to the Board.  

 

 

J. T. HUTCHESON

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.