Citation Nr: 21009047 Decision Date: 02/18/21 Archive Date: 02/18/21 DOCKET NO. 08-20 925 DATE: February 18, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for inflammatory arthritis, other than of the knees, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from May 1967 to December 1970, with additional service in the Air National Guard. The Board remanded this claim in August 2017, November 2018, and most recently in June 2020 for further development. Although yet another remand of this claim is unfortunate, still additional development of this claim is required. A remand by the Board confers on the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right of compliance with the terms of that remand. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). In the most recent June 2020 remand, the Board instructed the VA examiner to discuss the July and August 1970 service treatment records (STRs) showing chronic pain in various joints, including in the Veteran’s hands, more specifically, in the proximal interphalangeal joints and metacarpophalangeal joints, and the assessment at the time of rule out sero negative rheumatoid arthritis. But the July 2020 examiner failed to specifically address these records and reconcile them with his opinion that the Veteran’s current diagnosis is unrelated to his service. Supplemental opinion, thus, is required so the examiner can specifically address these records from during the Veteran’s service. Accordingly, this claim is again REMANDED for the following still additional development and consideration: Obtain another addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s current wrist disability or, if necessary, schedule him for another in-person VA examination. As previously requested in the Board’s June 2020 remand, the examiner again is asked to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not the Veteran’s bilateral wrist disability, to include tendonitis and osteoarthritis, is related to his service. *Note: the examiner’s opinion concerning this must include discussion of the July and August 1970 STRs showing chronic pain in various joints, including in the Veteran’s hands, more specifically, in the proximal interphalangeal joints and metacarpophalangeal joints, and the assessment at the time of rule out sero negative rheumatoid arthritis. If, as the August 2019 VA examiner concluded, the Veteran’s current osteoarthritis is due instead to simple aging and overuse injury since service (so post-service causes), the examiner must reconcile this conclusion with the STRs in the way of rationale   *Even though requested, the June 2020 examiner neglected to consider and comment on those STRs dated in July and August 1970, nor did he reconcile them with his opinion that the Veteran’s current diagnosis is unrelated to his service. Thus, medical comment concerning this is still needed. KEITH W. ALLEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Baronofsky 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.