Citation Nr: 21013563 Decision Date: 03/09/21 Archive Date: 03/09/21 DOCKET NO. 14-34 645 DATE: March 9, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veterans death is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1958 to April 1961. He died in March 2012. The appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes to the Board from a March 2013 decision of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ), which denied the appellant’s claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death. She timely appealed that decision to the Board. In February 2018, she testified before the undersigned at a videoconference hearing. A transcript of that hearing is of record. In November 2019, the Board denied the appellant’s claim. After further proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), the parties filed a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) in October 2020. In the JMR, the parties agreed that, in its decision, the Board failed to ensure that the AOJ had satisfied its duty to assist the appellant. By granting the JMR, the Court vacated the November 2019 denial of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death and remanded that issue back to the Board. The specific duty to assist problem identified in the JMR concerns a medical records authorization submitted, not by the appellant, but by the Veteran before his death. In May 2011, the Veteran authorized the AOJ to obtain copies of records concerning his admission to Scripps Hospital in Chula Vista, California, for a period of four days in March 2011. As the JMR explained, it is not clear whether the AOJ ever requested these records. To remedy this problem, the Board will remand this case with instructions to attempt to obtain copies of the records. Because it is likely that the March 2011 authorization signed by the Veteran has expired, the AOJ should attempt to obtain an appropriate authorization to release the Scripps Hospital records from the appellant. There is nothing in the JMR about the February 2019 medical opinion on the likely cause of the Veteran’s death. But it is possible that a new opinion might be needed if the AOJ obtains the March 2011 hospital records. Accordingly, if the outstanding hospital records are obtained, the AOJ should ask the author of the February 2019 opinion to review them and to indicate whether any revisions are needed to the previous opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should contact the appellant and ask her to provide a written authorization for VA to obtain copies of any outstanding private medical treatment records which might be relevant to the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, particularly the March 2011 records of the Veteran’s hospitalization at Scripps Hospital in Chula Vista, California. Advise the appellant that the authorization the Veteran provided to obtain the Scripps hospital records in May 2011 has expired. For each records request authorized by the appellant, the AOJ should continue to attempt to obtain the records until the records are obtained or until it is reasonably certain that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. 2. If the AOJ obtains new records in response to the development required by part one of these instructions, send the claims file, together with any newly obtained records, to the physician who prepared the February 2019 opinion concerning the probability of a relationship between exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and the Veteran’s lung cancer. If the author of the February 2019 opinion is unavailable for any reason, please obtain the opinion from another qualified person. After reviewing the claims file, including the newly obtained records, the examiner should indicate whether he or she agrees with the February 2019 opinion and whether any amendments or revisions in that opinion are necessary. The examiner should thoroughly explain the medical reasons for his or her conclusion. 3. If the outstanding hospital records and/or other private medical records are obtained, the AOJ must ensure that the opinion requested above complies with the directives of this remand. If any report or opinion is deficient in any manner, the AOJ must implement corrective procedures at once. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Nye, 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.