Citation Nr: 25004776 Decision Date: 04/08/25 Archive Date: 04/08/25 DOCKET NO. 14-32 086A DATE: April 8, 2025 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from August 1980 to September 1989. She testified during an October 2017 hearing. This matter is on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision. The case was remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) in June 2018, and then denied in an October 2021 decision. The Veteran thereafter appealed the Board's decision as to this issue, as well as other issues, to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In an Order dated in September 2022, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) by the Veteran and VA General Counsel, which was incorporated by reference, to vacate the Board's decision and remand the case for readjudication in accordance with the JMPR. The case was remanded by the Board in February 2023 and April 2024 for development consistent with the JMPR. The Board also remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral big toe disorders, bilateral knee disorders, bilateral ankle disorders, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. Service connection for those issues was granted in November 2024 and February 2025 rating decisions. As such, they are no longer on appeal, and the only issue remaining on appeal before the Board is service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome. Unfortunately, there still has not been substantial compliance with the Board's previous remand directives. The Board's February 2023 and April 2024 remands instructed the examiner to consider the Veteran's statements regarding the onset of her problems during service and continuing since service. They were also reminded that the absence of "chronicity of care," in and of itself, was not a valid basis for a negative medical conclusion. Medical opinions obtained in June 2024 and February 2025 do not consider the Veteran's reports of symptoms since service, and again rely, in part, on the absence of complaints in the claims file until 20 plus years after separation from service. Consequently, as the medical opinions obtained did not substantiallly comply with the Board's remand directives, another remand is required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an addendum medical opinion from an examiner with appropriate expertise to determine the etiology of the diagnosed right carpal tunnel syndrome. The examiner is requested to review the record and offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (at least an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence) that the diagnosed right carpal tunnel syndrome is related to the Veteran's service. The examiner must consider the Veteran's October 2017 testimony of injury from repetitive lifting beginning around 1981-1982, her reported medical history to the November 2019 exam of pain beginning in 1988, and her report of ongoing symptoms since service. The examiner is reminded that the Veteran is competent to report having experienced right carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms since service without corroborating evidence. The examiner is also reminded that the absence of "chronicity of care," in and of itself, is not a valid basis for a negative medical conclusion. A complete rationale should be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Barstow, 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.