Citation Nr: 21042682
Decision Date: 07/13/21	Archive Date: 07/13/21

DOCKET NO. 17-01 634
DATE: July 13, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), to include as due to exposure to herbicide agents is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1968 to June 1971.

This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a April 2015 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) rating decision.  In that rating decision, the RO denied entitlement to service connection for AML.  The Veteran's notice of disagreement was received in November 2015.  The RO issued a statement of the case in December 2016.  The Veteran's VA Form 9, substantive appeal to the Board, was received in January 2017.

In December 2018 the Board remanded the case to the RO with very specific remand instructions.  Specifically, a medical opinion based on a thorough review of the medical evidence and record.  However, it appears that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) scheduled the Veteran for an in-person examination; the Veteran declined to report for the examination.  The AOJ denied the Veteran's claim in a subsequent Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) without obtaining the requested medical opinion from the Board's previous remand.  Accordingly, as the AOJ has not substantially complied with the remand directives or otherwise indicated why such compliance is not possible, the Board must again remand this case in order to obtain the previously requested medical opinion to ensure compliance with the Board's previous remand directives.  See Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007); see also Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (A remand by the Board confers upon the claimant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand order).

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain a medical opinion from an oncologist to address the (1) exact type of leukemia diagnosed and (2) whether it is at least as likely as not the Veteran's leukemia is related to his conceded herbicide exposure in service. The examiner is notified that because the specific type of leukemia diagnosed is not currently recognized as presumptively related to herbicide exposure cannot be the sole basis for a negative opinion.  

The examiner should note review of this remand, and the entire claims file.  

A complete rationale must be provided for any opinion offered.

 

MARTIN B. PETERS

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	N. Ardalan, 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.