Citation Nr: 21014149 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-36 818 DATE: March 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for basal cell carcinoma, to include as due to exposure to UV rays, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 1969 to May 1972, with service in the Republic of Vietnam from December 1969 to April 1970. This matter returns to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) following the issuance of a Joint Motion for Remand by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in October 2020 in response to a November 2019 Board decision. 1. Entitlement to service connection for basal cell carcinoma is remanded. The Veteran has asserted that his basal cell carcinoma should be service connected. He specifically claims that his skin cancer is due to exposure to UV rays while in service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board observes that the Veteran has not been provided an examination for the purpose of evaluating the nature and etiology of his basal cell carcinoma, to include as due to UV ray exposure. Moreover, the Board cannot make a determination in this case as to the Veteran’s theory of entitlement without first obtaining a medical opinion. VA’s duty to assist includes providing a medical examination and obtaining an opinion when it is necessary to make a decision on a claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d) (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (2016). Such development is necessary if the information and evidence of record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim, but (1) contains competent evidence of a diagnosed disability or symptoms of disability, (2) establishes that the Veteran suffered an event, injury or disease in service, or has a presumptive disease during the pertinent presumptive period, and (3) indicates that the claimed disability may be associated with the in-service event, injury, or disease, or with another service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(4); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 83-86 (2006). Accordingly, the Veteran’s claim is remanded so that the Regional Office (RO) can obtain an examination and complete any additional development necessary. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The Regional Office (RO) should invite the Veteran to submit any additional evidence in support of his claim. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to evaluate the nature and etiology of his basal cell carcinoma. The examiner should opine as to whether the Veteran’s basal cell carcinoma is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) related to active duty service, to include as caused by or related to in-service UV ray exposure. The entire claims file should be reviewed. All indicated studies deemed necessary by the examiner should be performed, and all findings of these tests should be reported in detail. The examiner should also review and address the articles and/or treatises submitted by the Veteran. All opinions must be accompanied by adequate reasons and bases. If the examiner cannot provide the requested opinion without resorting to mere speculation, they should provide a complete explanation stating why this is so. In so doing, the examiner should explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information or that they have exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question(s). 3. The RO should readjudicate the issue on appeal. If the claim remains denied, the RO should issue a supplemental statement of the case and return the claim to the Board for further adjudication. B.T. KNOPE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Q.H., Associate Attorney