Citation Nr: 21006532
Decision Date: 02/04/21	Archive Date: 02/04/21

DOCKET NO. 18-26 273
DATE: February 4, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for head and face scars is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1980 to April 1989. 

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2016 rating decision by the Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

The Veteran presented testimony at a Board hearing in September 2018.  A transcript of the hearing is associated with the Veteran’s claims folder. 

This case was previously before the Board in June 2020, on which occasion it  was remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for head and face scars is remanded.

Upon review of the claims file, the Board has determined that further development is necessary before the Veteran’s claim can be adjudicated.  38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159.

Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board’s previous remand directives regarding the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for head and face scars.  In this regard, in a June 2020 Board decision, the Veteran’s claim was remanded for a VA eye impairment examination.  Additionally, the RO was directed to request a medical opinion regarding to what degree, if any, the Veteran’s left eye functionality is impaired by his left eyebrow and left lower eyelid scars.

Contrary to the Board’s June 2020 remand instructions, the Veteran was not schedule for an eye impairment examination.  Instead, the RO schedule the Veteran for a VA scars and disfigurements examination.  (10/17/2020, C&P Exam, p. 1).  This does not constitute substantial compliance with the June 2020 Board decision.  As such, another remand is required.  Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998)

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. The AOJ should obtain copies of VA treatment records for the Veteran’s disabilities from September 2020 to the present. 

2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of any left eye impairment, to include impairment of visual acuity.  The examiner must opine whether the Veteran’s left eye impairment is at least as likely as not (1) proximately due to left eyebrow and left lower eyelid scars, or has been (2) aggravated beyond its natural progression by left eyebrow and left lower eyelid scars. 

If aggravation is found, the examiner should also state, to the extent possible, the baseline level of disability prior to aggravation.  This may be ascertained by the medical evidence of record and by the Veteran’s statements as to the nature, severity, and frequency of his observable symptoms over time.

 

 

Eric S. Leboff

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	R. Glenn, 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.