Citation Nr: 21042535 Decision Date: 07/13/21 Archive Date: 07/13/21 DOCKET NO. 16-00 958 DATE: July 13, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for tinea versicolor is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran honorably served in the U.S. Marine Corps from June 1979 to March 1981. These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Detroit, Michigan. In December 2018, a videoconference hearing was held before the undersigned. A transcript of the hearing is of record. The issue was previously remanded in June 2019 for further development. 1. Service connection for tinea versicolor is remanded. This issue is again remanded for an adequate an addendum opinion. Where VA provides the veteran with an examination in a service connection claim, the examination must be adequate. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007). The medical opinion obtained on prior remand does not provide an adequate rationale regarding whether the Veteran's tinea versicolor had its onset in service or is otherwise related to service. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination for dermatophytosis in January 2020. The examiner opined the Veteran's tinea versicolor was less likely than not related to active service on the basis that service treatment records (STRs) are negative for a skin disability in service. The examiner acknowledged that the Veteran testified that the doctor related his tinea versicolor to the warm climate of Okinawa. The rationale provided by the examiner is unclear because the examiner noted that medical literature indicates that warm climates are more likely to cause the development of tinea versicolor and yet opined the Veteran's skin condition is less likely than not related to active service. The examiner failed to provide a thorough explanation as to why this factor would not support the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinea versicolor, given that he served in a warm climate, instead basing the negative opinion on the absence of any noted skin condition in service. Thus, clarification is needed. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all VA treatment records and adequately identified private treatment records relating to the Veteran's tinea versicolor. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion regarding the cause of the tinea versicolor. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. If an examination is deemed necessary, it shall be provided. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the tinea versicolor had onset in, or is otherwise related to active military service? The VA examiner's attention is drawn to the following: The Veteran's testimony that a doctor told him that tinea versicolor develops in warm climates, like the climate the Veteran was located in during service, and that the Veteran's tinea versicolor was related to service. A detailed explanation (rationale) is requested for all opinions provided and is very much appreciated. (By law, the Board is not permitted to rely on any conclusion that is not supported by a thorough explanation. Providing an opinion or conclusion without a thorough explanation will delay processing of the claim and may also result in a clarification being requested). If the requested opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation, the examiner should state this AND must explain WHY an opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation (including whether an opinion is beyond what any medical practitioner might be able to provide, based on the evidence of record and current medical knowledge). VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Braxton, 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.