Citation Nr: 21020758 Decision Date: 04/08/21 Archive Date: 04/08/21 DOCKET NO. 13-22 244A DATE: April 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a skin rash (skin condition) (claimed as ant bites, lice/crabs in hair, dermatitis, eczema) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1981 to February1982. This matter comes before the Board following a November 2018 Board remand. This matter was originally on appeal from a February 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. In May 2018, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Board hearing. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a skin rash (claimed as ant bites, lice/crabs in hair, dermatitis, eczema) The Veteran seeks entitlement to service connection for a skin condition that she asserts began in service and has continued periodically since service. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) show the Veteran reported itching all over in June 1981 and was diagnosed as having lice. In the Veteran’s January 1982 separation Report of Medical Examination, the examiner indicated the Veteran’s skin was normal. The Veteran indicated she did not experience any skin disease in her January 1982 Report of Medical History. A March 2011 VA examination indicated that her skin was normal and appeared warm, dry, with normal color and turgor. In the March 2016 NOD, the Veteran asserted that she has a skin rash that breaks-out monthly. In an August 2013 VA Form 9, the Veteran stated that her skin rash started in the military when she was bit by an ant and lice/crabs were in her hair. At the May 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran stated that following her first episode of itching while in service, she experienced reoccurring episodes around her neck. She treats the skin rash with an ointment and the rash goes away with use of the ointment. The Veteran stated that the rash comes and goes, but she has only experienced the rash in the springtime. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in September 2019. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s skin condition was less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. The examiner stated he could not render an opinion because the Veteran’s skin condition resolved and there was no recurrence. The September 2019 VA opinion failed to consider the Veteran’s contentions and therefore is inadequate and another opinion is necessary. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to identify the names, addresses, and approximate dates of treatment for all VA and non-VA health care providers who treated her from discharge until the present for the claimed skin disabilities. With any necessary authorization from the Veteran, the RO should attempt to obtain copies of pertinent treatment records identified by the Veteran which have not previously been secured. Failures to respond or negative replies should be associated with the file. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion to the September 2019 VA examination report. The examiner must opine with supporting rationale on whether any claimed skin disorder, including a recurring skin rash due to ant bites, lice/crabs in hair, dermatitis or eczema is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including the Veteran’s June 1981 complaint of “itching all over” and pediculosis pubis (lice) diagnosis. In so opining, the examiner must specifically consider and address the Veteran’s contentions as set forth in the Notice of Disagreement received in March 2016, the August 2013 VA Form 9, and the May 2018 Board hearing transcript. TANYA SMITH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board N. Daley, Associate 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.