Citation Nr: 21027417 Decision Date: 05/05/21 Archive Date: 05/05/21 DOCKET NO. 14-41 668 DATE: May 5, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for a right shoulder condition is remanded. Service connection for a right knee condition is remanded. Service connection for a left knee condition is remanded. Service connection for a right ankle condition is remanded. Service connection for a left ankle condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1970 to May 1972, and July 1979 to June 1993. In May 2018, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. The Board has previously remanded these matters. Right Shoulder Condition Bilateral Knee Condition Bilateral Ankle Condition The Board sincerely regrets additional delay. However, the Board again finds there was not substantial compliance with the Board's prior remand directives to obtain post-service VA treatment records. In its September 2020 remand, the Board noted that a request for the VA medical records identified by the Veteran had not been made; the Board directed that such a request be undertaken. Review of the record since the Board's September 2020 remand, however, indicates that the requested development has not been completed. Though records from the Portland VA medical center have been associated with the file, a review shows that these records are merely copies of the Veteran's April 2016 VA examinations and duplicative of records previously associated with the file. The remand specifically addressed Portland VA records beginning from November 2016. A remand by the Board confers on an appellant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the terms of the remand order and imposes upon VA a concomitant duty to ensure compliance with those terms. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). In light of the above, remand is warranted to ensure compliance with the Board's remand. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records from the Portland VAMC from November 2016 to present and associate them with the claims file. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file, and if, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named records, they are not able to be secured or if no such records are available, provide the required notice and opportunity to respond to the Veteran and his representative. All attempts to obtain the records and any response received must be documented in the claims file. 2. After confirming that the Veteran's updated and current VA medical center records are associated with the file, obtain a VA medical opinion from a qualified physician (M.D.) who has not previously examined the Veteran regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder, bilateral knees, and bilateral ankles disorders. The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any of these disabilities are related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. In doing so, the examiner must consider the following: Lay testimony of the Veteran, including his hearing testimony, regarding the rigors of his lengthy military service, and symptoms during and since service; January 1988 in-service slip and fall accident; Service treatment records documenting complaints and treatment pertaining to the knees and ankles from March 1993, April 1993, and on separation from service; April 2016 VA examination report; and June 2019 VA examination report JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Parrish, 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.