Citation Nr: 21022130 Decision Date: 04/14/21 Archive Date: 04/14/21 DOCKET NO. 14-19 489 DATE: April 14, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for hypothyroidism is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for levator dehiscence of the left eye is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from July 1980 to November 1980, with additional periods of service in the United States Marine Reserve. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from April 2011 and March 2013 rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) and were previously remanded by the Board in March 2018 and July 2020. A videoconference Board hearing was scheduled for November 2016. However, the Veteran did not report to the hearing, nor did he provide good cause for his absence. As such, his hearing request is considered withdrawn. 38C.F.R. §20.704 (2019). Pursuant to the Board’s March 2018 remand, a statement of the case was issued in April 2020 as to the Veteran’s claims for increased ratings for his posttraumatic stress disorder and migraine headaches. In May 2020, the Veteran submitted a timely substantive appeal requesting a videoconference Board hearing. As these issues are awaiting the scheduling of the Veteran’s requested Board hearing, they are not before the Board at this time and will be adjudicated in a separate Board decision. The claims of entitlement to service connection for hypothyroidism and an initial compensable rating for levator dehiscence of the left eye are remanded. The Board finds that there has not been substantial compliance with its July 2020 remand directives to obtain outstanding treatment records. The July 2020 Board remand directed the RO to obtain a complete set of private treatment records from Arbour Hospital from 1961 to the present. While the record reflects that medical treatment records were obtained from Arbour Hospital for 2008, the record does not reflect a complete set of records, as those records prior to 2008 and from 2009 to the present are not in the Veteran’s claims file. As there is no formal finding of unavailability in the claims file as to these remaining records, a remand is required to obtain the identified outstanding treatment records from Arbour Hospital in compliance with the Board’s July 2020 remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Moreover, in November 2020, the Veteran identified additional medical treatment records from the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, a division of the Bedford VA Medical Center, from 1961 to the present. Review of the claims file reflects treatment records from the Bedford VA Medical Center from only 2011 to 2013. VA has a duty to seek all outstanding treatment records from the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital prior to 2011 and from 2013 to the present. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (b)(1). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. With any necessary identification of sources and authorization by the Veteran, request all VA and private treatment records for the Veteran not already associated with the file, to specifically include: (1) private treatment records from Arbour Hospital from 1961 to the present; and (2) treatment records from the Edith Nourse Rogers VA Medical Center from 1961 to the present. Copies of any outstanding VA and private treatment records should be added to the Veteran’s electronic claims file. All efforts to obtain these records should be documented, and if the records cannot be located, a formal finding of unavailability should be associated with the Veteran’s claims file. 2. After completing all indicated development, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction should readjudicate the Veteran’s claims. If the benefits sought on appeal remain denied, the Veteran should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case, given the opportunity to respond, and the case should thereafter be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if warranted. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Houle, 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.