Citation Nr: 21006986 Decision Date: 02/08/21 Archive Date: 02/08/21 DOCKET NO. 13-03 389A DATE: February 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a skin condition, claimed as due to exposure to herbicide agents or as secondary to service-connected diabetes, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, served on active duty from February 1969 to February 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2010 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In September 2019, the Board denied entitlement to service connection for a skin condition, claimed as due to exposure to herbicide agents or as secondary to service-connected diabetes. The Veteran appealed this denied claim. In July 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) granted a July 2020 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) by counsel for the Veteran and VA, vacated the Board's September 2019 decision, and remanded this matter to the Board for development consistent with the JMR. As noted in the September 2019 Board decision, in a July 2019 rating decision, the Veteran was granted service connection for tinea pedis and onychomycosis (dermatophytosis). Accordingly, the appeal regarding service connection for the skin condition of dermatophytosis has been resolved. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). In May 2020, during the pendency of the present appeal, the Veteran appointed Robert V. Chisholm, Esquire, as his new representative, thereby revoking all previous representatives. See 38 C.F.R. § 14.631(f)(1). Entitlement to service connection for a skin condition, claimed as due to exposure to herbicide agents or as secondary to service-connected diabetes, is remanded. As noted above, the Court granted the July 2020 JMR, finding that the Board erred insofar as it relied upon a March 2019 VA examination report that was inadequate as it did not address whether the Veteran’s skin disabilities, specifically actinic keratosis and skin cancer, were aggravated beyond their natural progression due to his service-connected diabetes. Specifically, the parties agreed in the JMR that remand was warranted for the Board to obtain a new medical opinion that provides a sufficient medical rationale addressing whether the Veteran’s skin conditions, to include actinic keratosis and skin cancer, were aggravated beyond their natural progression due to his service-connected diabetes. Pursuant to the JMR, the Board finds that a remand is necessary to obtain an adequate VA medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his current skin conditions, to include actinic keratosis and skin cancer. The entire claims file, including a copy of the Remand, should be made available to, and be reviewed by, the VA examiner. All appropriate tests, studies, and consultation should be accomplished, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. **IF an in-person examination is not feasible given the circumstances surrounding the recent pandemic, refer the case to the appropriate VA medical professional(s) for a thorough review of the record and medical opinion. After examination of the Veteran and review of the claims file, the examiner should provide the following opinions: a) Whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s current skin conditions, to include actinic keratosis and skin cancer, had their onset during military service or is otherwise related to it, to include presumed exposure to herbicide agents therein. In doing so, consider the Veteran’s statements during the August 2009 VA Agent Orange examination that he experienced skin rashes in service and developed persistent skin problems since returning from Vietnam. (Continued on the next page)   b) Whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s current skin conditions, to include actinic keratosis and skin cancer, are aggravated beyond their natural progression due to his service-connected diabetes. 2. Then, readjudicate the issue of entitlement to service connection for a skin condition, claimed as due to exposure to herbicide agents or as secondary to service-connected diabetes, on appeal. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Thomas, 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.