Citation Nr: 21011807 Decision Date: 03/02/21 Archive Date: 03/02/21 DOCKET NO. 15-17 852 DATE: March 2, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for cervical spine condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from October 1991 to July 1995. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2018 rating decision issued by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In October 2018, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. The Board notes that the Veteran filed another appeal in September 2020 for issues listed in a July 2020 SOC. Those issues will not be addressed at this time as they are awaiting a Board hearing. The Board issued a remand in September 2020 instructing the RO to take appropriate steps to verify the Veteran’s mailing address and to schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the etiology of his obstructive sleep apnea and cervical spine condition. A remand by the Board confers upon the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand instructions, and imposes upon VA a concomitant duty to ensure compliance with the terms of the remand. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The RO obtained December 2020 VA examinations; however, the RO did not readjudicate the claims and a Supplemental Statement of the Case has not been issued since the Board’s remand. Therefore, remand is required for the consideration of the new evidence. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s September 2020 Decision Review Request which stated his intention to pursue his appeal under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) system in the evidence lane. However, this was submitted after the issuance of the Board’s September 2020 Remand Decision. Therefore, the request to transition to AMA or schedule a hearing could not be honored. A January 2021 letter was mailed to the Veteran notifying him that his appeal had been placed on the AMA docket was done in error. The appeal is currently still within the legacy system. If the Veteran wishes to switch to the AMA system, a request should be submitted subsequent to the issuance of an SSOC. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: The RO should reconsider the evidence in the record and issue a SSOC. MICHAEL MARTIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Harris, Attorney Advisor 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.