Citation Nr: 21024566 Decision Date: 04/23/21 Archive Date: 04/23/21 DOCKET NO. 18-36 836 DATE: April 23, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for internal hemorrhoids is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1959 to July 1962, and from November 1962 to November 1964. This appeal has been advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Huntington, West Virginia, which, inter alia, continued the noncompensable rating for internal hemorrhoids. This matter was previously before the Board in June 2020. At that time, the Board remanded the matter for further evidentiary development, to include obtaining treatment records and a VA examination. The Board observes that the Veteran is currently represented as noted above. If the Veteran desires to change his representation, he should submit a new VA Form 21-22 or 21-22a. Entitlement to a compensable rating for internal hemorrhoids is remanded. The record reflects that the Veteran is incarcerated in a state facility in Georgia. Although he is currently incarcerated, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) has held that an incarcerated veteran must be accorded the same assistance as his fellow law-abiding veterans. See Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 406 (1991); Bolton v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 185 (2002). Although VA does not have the authority to require a correctional institution to release a veteran so that VA can provide him the necessary examination at a VA medical facility, VA’s duty to assist an incarcerated veteran extends, if necessary, to (1) attempting to arrange transportation of the claimant to a VA facility for examination; (2) contacting the correctional facility and having their medical personnel conduct an examination according to VA examination work sheets; or (3) sending a VA or fee-basis examiner to the correctional facility to conduct the examination. See Bolton, 8 Vet. App. at 191. Pursuant to the Board’s June 2020 remand instructions, the RO was directed to contact the prison where the Veteran was incarcerated to determine if its medical personnel could conduct the necessary examination. If so, the RO was to arrange an examination to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s hemorrhoids. In an email correspondence dated in October 2020, the General Counsel for the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) indicated that the medical care provider for the GDC would be unable to conduct an examination of the Veteran, however, she indicated that it would be possible to arrange for a VA provider or contractor to evaluate the Veteran at the prison once the prison was able to resume visits by outside personnel. She indicated that Ms. C. would be the appropriate contact to arrange the evaluation. See Email Correspondence received in November 2020. A December 2020 Exam Scheduling Request Clarification Response indicated that numerous unsuccessful attempts had been made to reach a representative at the prison with the authority to approve entry of a provider to perform an evaluation of the Veteran. A March 2021 Exam Scheduling Request Clarification Response indicated that the Health Services Administrator (HSA) at the prison, Mr. S., indicated that the facility could not grant entry to a third party organization and had never allowed outside providers to enter and conduct examinations either in-person or via telehealth. It was noted that the prison declined the exam request and would not move forward with it. Although several attempts have been made to provide the Veteran with an examination, it does not appear that the RO contacted the appropriate individual to arrange the evaluation, as communicated in the October 2020 email correspondence from the GDC’s General Counsel. As such, remand is warranted to enable the RO to contact the appropriate individual to arrange for a VA provider or contractor to examine the Veteran at the prison. Accordingly, the matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Undertake the necessary efforts to contact Ms. C., as indicated in the October 2020 email correspondence from the General Counsel for the Georgia Department of Corrections, to arrange for a VA provider or contractor to examine the Veteran at Baldwin State Prison to determine the current severity of his service-connected hemorrhoids. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Ruddy, 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.