Citation Nr: 21026406
Decision Date: 05/03/21	Archive Date: 05/03/21

DOCKET NO. 15-11 172
DATE: May 3, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for a right ankle disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service from March 1992 to February 1996, October 2000 to September 2001, and January 2009 to February 2010.

The appeal originates from a September 2013 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office.

The Veteran appeared for a hearing before the undersigned in May 2017. 

The matter was remanded in July 2018 for additional development.  

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for a right ankle disability is remanded.

The matter on appeal was last considered by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in May 2019. However, in the intervening years, a substantial volume of relevant evidence has been added to the record, to include the report of an April 2021 VA examination of the right ankle.  There is no indication that the AOJ has reviewed and considered this evidence in the context of the present appeal. A supplemental statement of the case should be provided to the Veteran. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.31.

Further, in April 2021, the Veteran submitted an authorization form requesting that VA obtain his updated VA treatment records through the present.  The form was rejected by the PMR Program shortly thereafter due to the provider being non-private.  No further action was taken to obtain the records.  As such, remand is also necessary for this development.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran's updated VA treatment records.

2. Furnish to the Veteran and his representative an appropriate SSOC that includes a review of all evidence received since the May 2019 SSOC, to include the April 2021 VA examination report and any other new evidence submitted by the Veteran while the case is at the AOJ. 

 

 

MICHAEL A. HERMAN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Alhinnawi

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.