Citation Nr: 21024499 Decision Date: 04/22/21 Archive Date: 04/22/21 DOCKET NO. 18-51 587 DATE: April 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for acid reflux is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for high blood pressure is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for erectile dysfunction is remanded. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for coronary artery disease is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable disability rating for retinal ischemia is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably on active duty with the United States Marine Corps from January 1964 to March 1968, including overseas service in Vietnam. Unfortunately, he passed away in May 2019. The appellant is his surviving spouse and has been substituted for the Veteran as the claimant in this matter. These issues were most recently before the Board in February 2020, at which time they were remanded for additional development. The matters have since returned to the Board for appellate consideration. The Board notes that there is a separate appeal pending concerning entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). That issue was remanded by the Board in an October 2020 decision. At present, the issue remains pending at the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) and will therefore not be addressed in this decision. Unfortunately, the Board finds that another remand is necessary. In its February 2020 remand instructions, the Board directed the AOJ to obtain records associated with the Veteran’s death at Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. In response, the appellant, through her attorney, submitted a VA Form 21-4142 authorizing VA to obtain the records on her behalf. An August 2020 report of contact indicates that VA submitted a records request to the hospital via fax. However, the report further indicates VA received a response that a fee was required for processing the request, that the provider was unwilling to make exceptions, and that the request would therefore be closed out as “Fee Required.” There is no indication that VA ever informed the appellant or her attorney of its inability to obtain the records from Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital due to the fee requirement, nor is there any mention of VA’s inability to obtain the records in the March 2021 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). These records may be relevant to the claims on appeal and, therefore, the AOJ must make another attempt to obtain them. If the AOJ is still unable to retrieve these additional records without paying a fee, the appellant and her attorney must be appropriately notified of this so she, in turn, can attempt to provide them herself. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e). Accordingly, the matters are REMANDED for the following action: Make another attempt to obtain the Veteran’s records from Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. If, as before, there is a fee associated with obtaining these records, notify the appellant and her attorney that a fee is required, that VA cannot pay the fee, and afford her the opportunity to obtain the records on her own. L. CHU Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board G. T. Raftery, 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.