Citation Nr: 22046085
Decision Date: 08/15/22	Archive Date: 08/15/22

DOCKET NO. 15-14 298
DATE:    August 15, 2022

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a right foot condition is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a left foot condition is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1976 to June 1979. 

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of an October 2012 rating decision rating decision of a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In June 2019 and April 2020, following a December 2018 hearing, the Board remanded the case for further development. In July 2021, the Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

Subsequently, the Veteran appealed the denial of his claims to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court/CAVC). In a May 2022 decision, the Court granted the parties Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), vacated the Board's July 2021 decision, and remanded the matter to the Board for action consistent with the ruling. The claims are now once again before the Board.

In the May 2022 JMR, the parties noted that VA treatment records in August 2020 reflect that Appellant saw a private physician at UNC Caldwell, and that he may have seen a private orthopedist. They agreed that the Board erred by failing to attempt to obtain the relevant records and by failing to ask the Veteran to re-complete a VA Form 21-4142 authorizing VA to obtain the private treatment records.

Accordingly, the matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Contact the Veteran and request that he provide information needed to develop the evidence related to his reported private physician, Dr. R, at UNC Caldwell, as well as a potential private orthopedist. If he identifies one or more private treatment providers, then ask him to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for the healthcare provider and, if authorization is received, make two requests for the authorized records from the identified provider, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. Also, give the Veteran an opportunity to submit copies of such treatment records.

 

 

A. C. MACKENZIE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	E. Hixon, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.