Citation Nr: 21026482
Decision Date: 05/03/21	Archive Date: 05/03/21

DOCKET NO. 15-24 144
DATE: May 3, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active military service from November 1950 to November 1954 and from January 1955 to January 1972. He died in April 2006. The Appellant is his surviving spouse.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2013 rating decision of a VA Regional Office (RO). The Appellant testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a January 2019 hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board). In an October 2019 decision, the Board denied the Appellant's claim for service connection for cause of death.

Subsequently, the Appellant appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court/CAVC). In a May 2020 decision, the Court vacated the Board's decision and remanded the matter to the Board for action consistent with the ruling. In an October 2020 decision, the Board remanded this issue for a VA medical opinion.

In an April 2021 Appellate Brief, the Veteran's representative asserted that the VA examiner lacked sufficient qualifications to opine on the matter presented to them. Since the examiner's competency has been challenged, a remand is necessary to obtain information regarding the examiner's qualifications. See Francway v. Wilkie, 930 F.3d 1377 (2019). Upon remand, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) should provide the Veteran information regarding the November 2020 VA examiner's medical qualifications.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Provide the Veteran information regarding the qualifications of the November 2020 VA examiner, to include a curriculum vitae or other similar material and include copies of the information provided to the Veteran in the claims file. If the requested curriculum vitae and other credentialing documentation is not obtainable, the Veteran and his representative should be notified, and the reasons for such should be documented in the record.

 

 

A. C. MACKENZIE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	E. Hicks, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.