Citation Nr: 22005011 Decision Date: 02/04/22 Archive Date: 02/04/22 DOCKET NO. 15-35 083A DATE: February 4, 2022 REMANDED Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the previously denied claim of service connection for a cervical spine injury. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1979 to July 1981, July 1987 to March 1988, and February 1992 to June 1992. He also had service in the National Guard. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2009 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The appeal was previously before the Board in September 2018, at which time the Board remanded the appeal in order to attempt to obtain information from the Criminal Investigation Command regarding an assault upon the Veteran during his military service. The Veteran died in March 2021, while this appeal was pending. The Board issued a decision in March 2021 dismissing his appeal. Since that time, the appellant, who is the Veteran's surviving spouse, has been found to be a substitute party for the purpose of continuing to pursue the Veteran's claim on appeal after his death. See December 2021 Letter from VA to the appellant (notifying the appellant that she met the basic eligibility for substitution). Accordingly, the appeal is proceeding with the appellant as the substitute. The Board notes that the September 2018 Board decision remanded multiple issues other than the issue presently before the Board. However, those issues have either been granted by the RO or have been appealed through the Appeal Modernization Act. The issue addressed herein is the only issue currently pending before the Board. 1. New and material evidence to reopen service connection for cervical spine injury is remanded. This issue is remanded as there was not substantial compliance with the Board's prior remand. Based on the Veteran's statement that he was assaulted during military service, the Board previously remanded the appeal in an attempt to obtain records substantiating that statement. In July 2019, the RO sent a (second) request to the Criminal Investigation Division for records regarding an assault upon the Veteran during his military service. In July 2019, the US Army Crime Records Center filed a response. That response includes a stamp with the office's name and mailing address. Below that stamp is another stamp stating, "NO RECORD." (All CAPS in original.) However, in the top right corner of this document is a handwritten notation stating, "Need more information." It is not clear who made this handwritten notation. However, without further context, the most reasonable inference to draw at this stage appears to be that someone at the Criminal Investigation Division wrote it. The record does not reflect that the RO provided any information. Thus, overall, this response form appears to indicate only that no records were found based on the information currently available to them. The RO made no follow-up attempt to clarify what more information was needed. Without further clarification, the Board cannot find that there was substantial compliance with the prior remand directives. Another remand is required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page) Contact the Criminal Investigation Division, or any other potential records custodian, with a further request for any records for the Veteran from 1979 and 1981, regarding a personal assault. Ensure that all information needed to search for the records is provided. Document all efforts to obtain the records, including any contact with the records custodian. Corey Bosely Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Temple, 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.