Citation Nr: 21013411 Decision Date: 03/09/21 Archive Date: 03/09/21 DOCKET NO. 15-04 137 DATE: March 9, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include as secondary to a right arm disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right arm disability is remanded. Entitlement to total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1969 to February 1980. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). These matters were previously remanded in October 2018 and May 2020 Board decisions. For the reasons discussed below, remand is appropriate. 1. Entitlement to service connection for right arm disability is remanded. The May 2020 Board decision remanded the Veteran’s claims for entitlement to service connection for right arm pain for a VA examination. Upon remand, the Veteran’s VA examination for right arm disability was scheduled and subsequently canceled. An October 2020 memorandum notes that the Veteran’s examination was canceled at the request of the Veteran. However, it is not clear from the record that the pro-se Veteran declined a VA examination. Specifically, the record contains no report of general contact nor written correspondence from the Veteran canceling his VA examination. The Board finds that it is appropriate to afford the Veteran another opportunity for a VA examination. However, the Board also notes that the duty to assist is not a one-way street. If a Veteran desires help, he cannot passively wait for it in those circumstances where he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining evidence. Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190 (1991). 2. Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include as secondary to a right arm disability is remanded. The May 2020 Board decision remanded the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include as secondary to right arm disability. The remand directive instructed that if the claim for service connection for right arm disability was granted, a VA examination for an acquired psychiatric disorder secondary to the right arm disability should be scheduled. Because the Veteran never underwent a VA examination for his right arm disability, the Veteran was never scheduled for a VA examination for his psychiatric disorder. The Veteran’s claim for entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is inextricably intertwined with the claim for entitlement to service connection for right arm disability. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (holding that issues are inextricably intertwined and must be considered together when a decision concerning one could have a significant impact on the other). As such remand is warranted. 3. Entitlement to total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. Remand is required because entitlement to TDIU is inextricably interwined with the pending service connection claims. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Provide the Veteran with the appropriate examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s right arm pain. If an in-person examination is not feasible, the Veteran should be afforded an examination by other means. Any indicated tests and studies must be accomplished, and all clinical findings must be reported in detail and correlated to a specific diagnosis. (a.) The examiner must review and address the following: the Veteran’s STRs, which indicate a preexisting arm disability with residuals of pain and weakness; the Veteran’s enlistment examination, finding normal upper extremities; Dr. J. M. D.’s August 2012 report; the Veteran’s July 2014 testimony that he did not have problems with his forearm prior to service but after the 1976 accident; the Veteran’s testimony that the forearm pain in service was different from the 1976 forearm pain he experienced; and the argument that if the Veteran’s forearm disability preexisted service, it was aggravated by service since the Veteran completed several weeks of basic training before he reported pain. (b.) The VA examiner is to clarify whether the Veteran has a right arm disability, or any residuals from herniation fascia of the right arm. If the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis associated with his reported arm symptoms, the examiner should state this with a fully reasoned explanation. The examiner should also state whether there is any functional impairment caused by the Veteran’s reported right arm pain. Evidence of pain alone that causes functional impairment, even without a specific diagnosis or identifiable disease, may constitute a disability for VA purposes. (c.) If there is a diagnosed disorder, disease, condition, or disability of the right arm OR functional limitations due to pain, the examiner must opine as to whether any disability of the right arm or functional limitations due to pain preexisted active duty service. (d.) If a disability preexisted active duty, the examiner must opine as to whether the disability was not aggravated by that period of service. Additionally, if the examiner finds that any disability of the right arm preexisted active duty, the examiner should address: (1) the evidence which supports this opinion; (2) the findings in the service entrance examinations, which demonstrate no abnormalities of the bilateral upper extremities; and (3) any evidence that demonstrates these disabilities were not aggravated by service. (e.) If there is a diagnosed disorder, disease, condition, or disability of the right arm OR functional limitations due to pain, the examiner must opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent likelihood or greater) related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. 3. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety disorder and depressive disorder. A copy of this remand must be made available to the examiner. The examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s psychiatric disability is proximately caused or aggravated by the Veteran’s right arm disability. A complete explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided. A clearly stated rationale must not be based solely on lack of documentation or records. The reasons for any opinion must include a discussion of the relevant evidence. The Veteran is to be considered credible for the limited purpose of the aforementioned examinations. Jennifer White Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Wimbish, Alicia 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.