Citation Nr: 21024995 Decision Date: 04/27/21 Archive Date: 04/27/21 DOCKET NO. 00-16 580 DATE: April 27, 2021 REMANDED The issue of service connection for a skin disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1993 to November 1996. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2000 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In July 2003, April 2007, August 2012, and November 2017, the Board remanded the Veteran’s appeal for additional development. REASONS FOR REMAND The issue of service connection for a skin disability is remanded. In November 2017, the Board remanded the appeal to schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine whether he has or had the skin disabilities during the appeal period and for an opinion to address whether such skin disabilities had their onset during or due to service. The appeal was previously remanded as other VA examinations and opinions were found inadequate. Pursuant to the November 2017 Board remand, in June 2019, the Veteran was scheduled for a VA skin examination; however, he failed to appear to the scheduled VA examination. See exam scheduling request contention cancellation report (June 2019). The medical evidence suggests that the Veteran was unable to attend the VA examination because near the date of the scheduled VA examination, he was admitted for psychiatric treatment and seeking treatment for an exacerbation of his service-connected acquired psychiatric disability. See VA treatment records (February 2019); Rating Decision (May 2020). Although the Veteran failed to report to the VA examination in June 2019, the claims file shows that the Veteran appeared to other VA skin examinations in the past and that the opinions rendered were flawed, as they failed to address his contentions and current skin diagnoses noted in VA treatment records. Therefore, a remand is necessary to obtain a VA medical opinion to address the Veteran’s claim of service connection for a skin disability. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain updated VA treatment records. 2. Refer the claims file to a clinician, preferably a dermatologist, for an opinion as to the Veteran’s claim of service connection for a skin disability. The clinician should address the following: a. Identity all of the Veteran’s skin disabilities since the date of his claim in February 1998. b. For any skin condition identified, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s skin disability had its onset in service or is otherwise related to service, to include as due to an in-service environmental conditions he experienced while deployed to Bosnia. See Veteran’s statement (March 1997); VA examination report (April 2017). The clinician should discuss the VA treatment records that note “intermittent eczematous dermatitis of extremities with onset in Bosnia.” See VA treatment records (September 2007; June 2015). The examiner must provide a rationale for the opinion. If an opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is caused by a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (i.e. no one could respond given medical science and the known facts) or by a deficiency in the record or the examiner (i.e. additional facts are required, or the examiner does not have the needed knowledge or training). Tiffany Dawson Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Castillo, 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.