Citation Nr: 21028562
Decision Date: 05/11/21	Archive Date: 05/11/21

DOCKET NO. 17-57 136
DATE: May 11, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the right wrist is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the left wrist is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the left hand, to include the fingers, is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the right hand, to include the fingers, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from December 1952 to December 1955.  The Veteran passed away in November 2018.  The appellant, the Veteran's surviving spouse, was granted substitution for the Veteran's pending claims by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in May 2019.

In August 2019, the Board issued a decision which denied service connection for arthritis of the right and left wrists and the right and left hands.  The appellant appealed the denial to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a September 2020 Order, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), vacating the August 2019 Board decision, and remanding the matter to the Board for additional development and consideration.

Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the right wrist; entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the left wrist; entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the left hand, to include the fingers; and entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the right hand, to include the fingers are remanded.

In accordance with the September 2020 JMR, the appellant's claims must be remanded to obtain a new VA opinion based upon consideration of the pertinent evidence in the claims file, and which provides adequate rationale for its conclusions.  In that regard, the Veteran's service treatment records reflect that the Veteran injured both hands and wrists in April 1954, after being struck on the wrists and hands by an 850-pound tank full of gas.  X-rays showed a chip fracture of the proximal tip of the second right metacarpal.  There was swelling and ecchymosis of the left wrist and forearm.  A cast was applied to the right wrist and hand at that time.  The Veteran was discharged to duty approximately eight days later.  Eight days after the Veteran was discharged to duty, he returned with complaints of left wrist and hand weakness.  In June 1954, the Veteran sought treatment for right hand and wrist pain and weakness over the old fracture site.  Post-service treatment records dated in March 2014 contain a diagnosis of "advanced osteoarthritis and osteoarthrosis of all fingers and hands."  In a July 2014 statement, the Veteran reported that his hand and finger condition continued to get worse after discharge.

In their September 2020 JMR, the parties found an October 2017 VA opinion relied upon by the Board in its August 2019 decision to be inadequate, noting that the examiner provided no explanation or rationale to support the opinion and that there was no evidence that the examiner reviewed the Veteran's service treatment records or considered any of the lay statements of record.  The JMR directs that a new VA opinion be obtained, and that the examiner review the Veteran's service treatment records as well as the lay statements of the Veteran and his physician, and provide an opinion with adequate rationale as to the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hand and wrist disabilities.  Accordingly, the appeal is remanded to obtain a new VA opinion.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain a new VA opinion by an appropriate clinician to determine the etiology of the Veteran's arthritis of the bilateral hands and wrists.  After a thorough review of all evidence in the claims file, to include the Veteran's service treatment records, the post-service treatment records, and the lay statements of record, the examiner should state whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's arthritis of the bilateral hands and wrists was incurred in or caused by his active duty service, to include the in-service injury documented in the service treatment records, detailed above.  A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided.

 

 

B. G. LeMoine

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Katz, 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.