Citation Nr: 21013506 Decision Date: 03/09/21 Archive Date: 03/09/21 DOCKET NO. 13-31 802 DATE: March 9, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right hip and right leg disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from August 1970 to April 1972. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Detroit, Michigan. In an October 2017 decision, the Board reopened the Veteran’s previously-denied claim and remanded it to provide the Veteran with a VA examination. The Board decision was mailed to the Veteran at a previous, incorrect address and returned as undeliverable. In November 2017, VA confirmed a correct address for the Veteran and mailed the Board decision accordingly. A VA examination was scheduled for February 2018. Notice for that examination was again sent to the Veteran at the incorrect, former address, rather than the newly confirmed one. The Veteran did not attend the scheduled examination. The fact that notice was sent to the incorrect address was noted in his file; however, the examination was not rescheduled, and the claim continued to be denied. The Board determined in a January 2019 decision that notice of a rescheduled examination should be sent to the Veteran’s latest address of record and remanded the claim in order to do so. Subsequently, in October 2019, the Veteran submitted an updated VA Form 21-22, in which he noted a new address on a [REDACTED]. That same month, a VA treatment note from a social worker indicated that the Veteran had been evicted from the [REDACTED] address and was living with his sister. Regardless, in December 2019, a VA examination letter was mailed to the [REDACTED] address. That same month, two calls were made to a phone number which was listed for the Veteran in order to confirm his VA examination. On both occasions, the person who answered the phone hung up on VA staff. There is no indication from the record that there was any attempt to confirm that this person was in fact the Veteran. The December 2019 VA examination letter was returned to VA as undeliverable. In January 2020, the Veteran submitted a claim for pension to VA, in which he listed his mailing address as one on [REDACTED]. In June 2020, VA attempted to verify the Veteran’s address and send him notice for the new, Board-requested VA examination. Despite the Veteran’s January 2020 notification of the address on [REDACTED], the clarification letter was sent to an address where the Veteran lived prior to[REDACTED] (which, the Board notes, was also on [REDACTED]). In October 2020, VA sent a letter to the Veteran regarding his pension, at the [REDACTED] address, which was not returned as undeliverable. To date, this is the most recent, and likely, address for the Veteran. To summarize, since the Board reopened the Veteran’s claim in October 2017 and requested a VA examination, the Veteran has not received a single notice of any scheduled examination, and his claim continues to be denied based on a lack of examination. Where the remand orders of the Board are not complied with, the Board errs as a matter of law when it fails to ensure compliance. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998) (Board remand confers a right on a claimant to compliance with the remand order); Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 147 (1999) (clarifying that substantial compliance with Board remand is required). Thus, the claim is again remanded to provide the RO with the opportunity to confirm the Veteran’s most-recent address and provide him with an examination in relation to his claim. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. In an effort to ensure both due process and compliance with the prior remand directives, VA should undertake all appropriate efforts to contact the Veteran and his representative to confirm the Veteran’s current mailing address. The Veteran’s electronic record must be updated to reflect his current address. All efforts to confirm the Veteran’s current address must be documented in the record. 2. Once the most current mailing address is confirmed, the Veteran should be rescheduled for a VA examination. The selected examiner is asked to address whether it is as likely as not (at least 50 percent probability) that the Veteran’s diagnosed right hip arthritis, and any other right hip or leg disability, is related to an in-service stress fracture to his right femoral head. The examiner is asked to review the file prior to the examination, and his or her attention is directed to the fact that the Veteran had a stress fracture to the right femoral head, which was diagnosed in October 1970, and for which he was hospitalized and placed on profile until December 1970. The Veteran continued to report hip pain throughout service, including in January 1971 and February 1972. His separation examination indicated that the injury was treated with bed rest and traction and had no sequelae. He has reported recurrent pain since discharge that has increased in severity. A detailed rationale should be provided for any opinion offered. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Jeremy J. Olsen, 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.