Citation Nr: 21076408
Decision Date: 12/23/21	Archive Date: 12/23/21

DOCKET NO. 18-07 372
DATE: December 23, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a compensable initial rating for tension headaches prior to April 20, 2020 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1996 to November 1996 and August 2007 to November 2009.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2017 rating decision. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a hearing in February 2020. A transcript of that hearing is of record. In a March 2021 decision, the Board denied entitlement to a rating higher than 30 percent for the period beginning April 20, 2020, and remanded entitlement to a compensable rating for the period prior to April 20, 2020. The Board remanded the claim again in July 2021. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand directives and the claim must be remanded again. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).

Entitlement to a compensable initial rating for tension headaches prior to April 20, 2020 is remanded.

The claim must be remanded again because the August 2021 VA medical opinion is inadequate. The prior remand directed that the examiner address the severity of the headache disability prior to April 20, 2020. The examiner's opinion is not responsive to the Board directive at all. Rather than address the severity of the service-connected disability, the examiner improperly considered whether the grant of service connection itself was warranted. The medical opinion on remand should be provided by a different clinician, to the extent possible. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate VA examiner (other than the examiner who provided the August 2021 opinion) on the severity of the Veteran's headache disability for the period BEFORE April 20, 2020. Copies of all pertinent medical records should be made available to the examiner for review. To the extent possible, the examiner should assess the severity of the Veteran's headache disability since December 2009. If that is not possible, the examiner should indicate why.

2. Confirm that the VA medical opinion provided comports with this remand, specifically that it addresses the prior from December 2009 to April 20, 2020. If not, get an addendum. 

 

 

M.E. Larkin

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. G. Perkins, 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.