Citation Nr: 21022268 Decision Date: 04/15/21 Archive Date: 04/15/21 DOCKET NO. 13-20 620 DATE: April 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy on a direct and secondary basis, including as caused or aggravated by diabetes mellitus, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1967 to June 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a July 2014 travel Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the hearing transcript has been associated with the electronic claims file. In June 2015, the Board remanded the matter for VA examinations. The Board finds that adequate VA examinations were obtained. Accordingly, the Board finds that the remand instructions were substantially complied with. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The Board notes that issues concerning entitlement to service connection for hypertension and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy are no longer in appellate status, having been granted in an April 2016 rating decision, effective January 15, 2010. Because this decision represents a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal, these issues are no longer before the Board. See Grantham v Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed Cir 1997). As a preliminary matter, the Veteran submitted a request to expedite his claim in his March 2021 Informal Hearing Presentation (IHP) due to the age of the case. The Veteran’s instant case has been ongoing for ten years and was delayed on the docket due to an administrative error. The Board finds that this is “other sufficient cause” to advance the case on the docket. Thus, the Motion to Advance on the Docket (AOD) is granted and the appeal is advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.800(c); 38 U.S.C. § 7107 (a)(2). The Veteran is diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, and was provisionally and officially diagnosed with diabetes mellitus in January 2018 and March 2019, respectively. The Veteran is not currently service-connected for diabetes mellitus. He filed an initial service connection claim for diabetes mellitus in March 2021, and this claim has not yet been adjudicated by the RO. In October 2015, the Veteran’s treating physician assessed his metabolic syndrome and noted that he is experiencing diabetic type neuropathy, likely from his years of metabolic syndrome. In November 2015, a VA examiner reviewed the Veteran’s claim file per the June 2015 remand directives. The examiner diagnosed the Veteran with left upper extremity mild sensory peripheral neuropathy, affirming the October 2015 treating physician’s note that this neuropathy may be associated with the Veteran’s metabolic syndrome. After establishing that Veteran has not been diagnosed with early on-set peripheral neuropathy, the examiner opined that the Veteran’s upper extremity peripheral neuropathy is less likely than not incurred in or caused by an in-service injury, event or illness, to include herbicide agent exposure. The Veteran’s representative, the Blinded Veterans Association, filed an IHP in March 2021. The representative argued, in part, that the Veteran’s left upper extremity neuropathy is related to his diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The representative referenced the November 2015 examiner’s note stating that the Veteran is manifesting diabetic type neuropathy, likely from his years of metabolic syndrome. Because of this, the representative requested a remand to obtain an opinion regarding service-connection of the Veteran’s diabetes mellitus and an opinion regarding whether the Veteran’s left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy is secondary to his diabetes mellitus. The Board agrees. The Board finds that the issue of service connection for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy is inextricably intertwined with the issue of service connection for diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the claim for peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities cannot be decided without first deciding the diabetes mellitus claim. The appropriate remedy is to remand the claim on appeal pending the adjudication of the inextricably intertwined claim. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Adjudicate the pending service connection claim for diabetes mellitus. Then, readjudicate the claim for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy as secondary to diabetes mellitus. MICHELLE L. KANE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Tierno 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.