Citation Nr: 21024129 Decision Date: 04/22/21 Archive Date: 04/22/21 DOCKET NO. 13-01 502 DATE: April 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a sleep disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI), to include headaches, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity neuropathy is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the U.S. Coast Guard from April 1969 to June 1970. He passed away in October 2018. The Appellant has been approved as a substitute in his appeal. See October 2019 Notification Letter. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a lumbar spine disability is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. 4. Entitlement to service connection for a sleep disorder is remanded. 5. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. 6. Entitlement to service connection for TBI, to include headaches, is remanded. 7. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity neuropathy is remanded. The Veteran passed away after the Board issued the August 2018 remand, and the Appellant was substituted in his place. On remand, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) documented attempts to obtain the records requested in the August 2018 remand. However, the AOJ did not obtain medical opinions as directed in the Board’s remand, presumably because the Veteran was not available for examination. Nevertheless, the Board finds these issues cannot be adequately adjudicated without the medical opinions requested in the August 2018 remand. As such, remand is necessary. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request medical opinions for lumbar spine, cervical spine, right hip, and right lower extremity neuropathy. The expert should review the claims file and provide opinions on the following: a. Was any disability of the lumbar spine present prior to the Veteran’s death at least as likely as not related to his service, including a motor vehicle accident in August 1969? b. Was any lumbar spine disability at least as likely as not caused or aggravated (worsened) by the service-connected right knee disability? c. Was any disability of the cervical spine present prior to the Veteran’s death at least as likely as not related to his service, including a motor vehicle accident in August 1969? d. Was any disability of the right hip present prior to the Veteran’s death at least as likely as not related to his service, including a motor vehicle accident in August 1969? e. Was any right hip disability at least as likely as not caused or aggravated (worsened) by the service-connected right knee disability? f. Was right lower extremity neuropathy or radiculopathy at least as likely as not related to his service, including a motor vehicle accident in August 1969? g. Was right lower extremity neuropathy or radiculopathy at least as likely as not caused or aggravated (worsened) by the service-connected right knee disability? All opinions must be supported by detailed rationale. If the opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation, the expert should explain why, and state whether the inability is due to the absence of evidence or limits of scientific/medical knowledge. 2. Request medical opinions for hypertension, sleep disorder, and TBI. The expert(s) should review the claims file and provide opinions on the following: a. Was the Veteran’s hypertension at least as likely as not related to his service? b. Did the Veteran have any residuals of a traumatic brain injury, which could at least as likely as not be related to service, including the motor vehicle accident in August 1969? (Continued on the next page)   c. Was the Veteran’s obstructive sleep apnea, or any other sleep disorder, at least as likely as not related to his service? All opinions must be supported by detailed rationale. If the opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation, the expert should explain why, and state whether the inability is due to the absence of evidence or limits of scientific/medical knowledge. A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A.P. Armstrong 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.