Citation Nr: 22016642 Decision Date: 03/23/22 Archive Date: 03/22/22 DOCKET NO. 14-15 488A DATE: March 23, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right leg disability, to include leg numbness, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from October 1977 to September 1979. In May 2018, the Veteran was afforded a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge sitting at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Regional Office. The hearing transcript is of record. In January 2022, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) notified the Veteran that the Veterans Law Judge who conducted the May 2018 Board hearing had retired, and he had the right to request an additional hearing before a different Veterans Law Judge. The Board informed the Veteran that if he did not respond within 30 days, the Board would assume he did not wish to have another hearing. A response from the Veteran has not been received. Entitlement to service connection for a right leg disability, to include leg numbness, is remanded. Unfortunately, another remand is required in this case. Although the Board sincerely regrets the additional delay, it is necessary to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the claim. In its September 2021 Remand instructions, the Board requested an evaluation be obtained from "an appropriate clinician (in orthopedics)" regarding the etiology of the claimed right leg numbness, and whether it was caused or aggravated by the service-connected right hip, right knee, and/or right foot disabilities. The report of a November 2021 examination conducted for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the examiner was a family nurse practitioner rather than an orthopedic clinician. The Veteran was diagnosed with right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy. The examiner opined that the right lower extremity numbness was not proximately due to or aggravated by the service connected right hip, right knee, and/or right foot disabilities. The Agency of Original Jurisdiction's compliance with the Board's remand instructions is neither optional nor discretionary. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Therefore, the Board finds that further VA evaluation is needed. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination conducted by a medical doctor to assist in determining the nature of any right leg neurological disability and any relationship to active service and the service-connected disabilities. The examiner must review the record and should note that review in the report. A rationale for all opinions should be provided. The examiner should: (a) Identified all right leg neurological disabilities found. (b) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified right leg neurological disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service. (c) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified right leg neurological disability is due to or the result of the service-connected disabilities. (d) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified right leg neurological disability has been aggravated (increased in severity beyond the natural progress of the disorder) by the service connected disabilities. J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Casula 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.