Citation Nr: 21022437
Decision Date: 04/15/21	Archive Date: 04/15/21

DOCKET NO. 15-32 781
DATE: April 15, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an increased rating greater than 30 percent for skin cancer, to include actinic keratosis with a history of recurrent squamous cell carcinoma, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from February 1972 to February 1975.  He appeals an April 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) denying entitlement to a rating greater than 30 percent for skin cancer.  Most recently, in July 2020, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) remanded the claim to refer the issue to the Director of the Compensation Service for consideration of an increased rating on an extraschedular basis.  The claim is now back before the Board.

The Board apologizes for the delay, but another remand is warranted for further development.  In March 2021, after AOJ development, the Veteran stated he underwent surgery at VA to remove skin cancer from his face and returned for treatment five times since the surgery to ensure “they got all the skin cancer.”  See March 2021 Veteran correspondence.  VA treatment records currently included in the Veteran’s file reflect treatment only up to October 2020 and note “Mohs surgery needed for basal cell carcinoma left forehead.”  See October 2020 VA treatment records.  As there is evidence the Veteran’s skin cancer with actinic keratosis has worsened, a remand is required to examine the Veteran and obtain the relevant VA treatment records from October 2020 forward.  See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403-04 (1997).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding and updated relevant VA and/or private treatment records, to include VA treatment records since October 2020, and associate the same with the claims file.

2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the severity of his service-connected skin cancer, to include actinic keratosis with a history of recurrent squamous cell carcinoma.

3. After the above has been completed to the extent possible, readjudicate the claim.  If any benefit sought remains denied, provide the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), and return the case to the Board. 

 

DONNIE R. HACHEY

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Bona, 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.