Our client served in the U.S. Marine Corps from March 1966 to March 1968. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals denied his claims for bilateral upper and lower extremity radiculopathy. This was the second time we appealed these denials to the Court. The first time the Secretary agreed the Board erred in how it considered an inadequate VA medical opinion. This second time around the Court agreed with our position (over the Secretary’s objections) that the Board had not corrected this error.
A VA medical examiner said the veteran’s conditions could have “multiple etiologies” and left it at that. The result of the first appeal was an instruction from the Court that the Board should consider whether this opinion was sufficient for the Board to make an informed decision. The Court specifically instructed the Board to consider whether the reference to “multiple etiologies” took into account the veteran’s actual medical history. The Court faulted the Board for not addressing this instruction. It “remind[ed] the Board that it does not have an option about whether it must substantially comply with the remand instructions.” The Court vacated the Board decision on appeal and remanded for readjudication.
