Citation Nr: 21030273
Decision Date: 05/18/21	Archive Date: 05/18/21

DOCKET NO. 15-44 066
DATE: May 18, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable rating prior to January 3, 2020 and a rating in excess of 30 percent thereafter for chronic sinusitis is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from January 1970 to January 1973.  

In May 2019, the Board remanded the above issue to obtain VA treatment records, private treatment records, and a VA examination (VAX) to assess the current severity of his service-connected chronic sinusitis.  The case has been returned to the Board for appellate review.

The RO sent a November 2019 Subsequent Development Letter requesting the Veteran to identify any outstanding treatment records. In response to this request, VA authorizations were received in December 2019.  The Veteran identified pertinent treatment records from Dr. J. R. at Central Louisiana Surgical Hospital and Dr. A. A at Rapides Regional Medical Center, both in Alexandria, Louisiana.  There is no indication that any attempts were made to obtain these pertinent treatment records.  To ensure that VA has met its duty to assist, remand is again necessary to obtain the identified outstanding treatment records. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (a remand by the Board confers upon the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with its remand instructions).

The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:

1. Obtain treatment records from Dr. J. R. at Central Louisiana Surgical Hospital and Dr. A. A. at Rapides Regional Medical Center, both in Alexandria, Louisiana.  

If any identified records cannot be obtained, the RO should document all steps taken, notify the Veteran that the records could not be obtained, and allow the Veteran the opportunity to provide such records as provided in 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (b) (2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e).

2. Then, readjudicate the claim.  If the decision is adverse to the Veteran, issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case and allow the applicable time for response.  Then, return the case to the Board.

 

T. Blake Carter

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.