Citation Nr: 21039934
Decision Date: 07/01/21	Archive Date: 07/01/21

DOCKET NO. 17-33 749
DATE: July 1, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for prostate carcinoma, from April 1, 2016, forward, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1963 to September 1966.

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2016 rating decision that reduced the 100 percent rating assigned for the Veteran's prostate carcinoma to 0 percent under Diagnostic Code (DC) 7528, effective April 1, 2016.  See 38 C.F.R. § 4.115b, DC 7528.  Because DC 7528 contains a temporal element for continuance of a 100 percent rating for prostate cancer residuals, the AOJ's action was not a "rating reduction" as the term is commonly understood.  See 38 C.F.R. §3.344; Rossiello v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 430 (1992).  

Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for prostate carcinoma, from April 1, 2016, forward, is remanded.

The most recent VA compensation examination addressing the severity of the Veteran's prostate carcinoma disability was conducted in July 2015.  VA received a letter from the Veteran in August 2015, and he reports experiencing severe pain, nocturia, and urinary incontinence.  He was scheduled for an additional VA examination; however, the RO received notification dated December 16, 2016 of his inability to attend scheduled VA examination.  See May 2017 Statement of the Case.  Because the reason for the Veteran's inability to report for his VA examination is unclear, and given that almost six years have passed since the most recent VA examination, the Board finds the claim should be remanded to afford the Veteran another VA compensation examination to assess the current degree of disability of his prostate carcinoma disability.  See Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 181-82 (2007); Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997).

This matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records and any outstanding private medical records identified by the Veteran as pertinent to his claim.

2. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate examination to assess the current level of the Veteran's service-connected prostate carcinoma disability.  The examiner should examine the Veteran and render findings in accordance with the currently applicable disability benefits questionnaire and provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating his disability under the rating criteria.

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The examiner must provide a comprehensive report that includes a complete rationale for all opinions and conclusions reached.

 

 

P. M. DILORENZO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Buck Denton

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.