Citation Nr: 21040895
Decision Date: 07/07/21	Archive Date: 07/07/21

DOCKET NO. 14-40 965A
DATE: July 7, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a back disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

This case was previously before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) and was denied in a September 2018 decision.  The Veteran appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) and it was vacated and remanded by the Court in September 2019 pursuant to the terms of a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) by the parties.  

Having reviewed the record, the Board finds that remand is warranted.  Since the January 2021 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), updated VA treatment records have been associated with the file in March and April 2021.  This evidence has not yet been addressed in either a rating decision or a SSOC.  Additionally, the Veteran did not respond to an April 2021 letter informing him that he could submit a waiver so that the Board could review the case in the first instance.  Accordingly, remand is warranted so that the AOJ may review the new evidence in the first instance.

Additionally, the Board notes that the record does not contain treatment records from the VA Jacksonville outpatient clinic from 1992 to October 2011.  Though the AOJ notified the Veteran of the unavailable records in a November 2020 correspondence, the record does not yet contain a memorandum outlining the AOJ's efforts to obtain records.  Accordingly, and to ensure substantial compliance with the July 2020 Board directives, the AOJ should prepare and associate with the record a Memorandum of Unavailability documenting all of VA's actions to obtain the records.  

Updated VA treatment records should be obtained and associated with the record.  

The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:

1. Prepare and associate with the record a Memorandum of Unavailability documenting all of VA's actions to obtain the records from the VA Jacksonville outpatient clinic from 1992 to October 2011.  

2. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from April 2021 to present. 

3. Review all relevant evidence that has been associated with the claims file since the issuance of the January 2021 SSOC, including updated VA treatment records.  Thereafter, readjudicate the Veteran's claim.  If the claim is not granted in full, issue an SSOC.

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TANYA SMITH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Vang

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.