Citation Nr: 0814867 Decision Date: 05/06/08 Archive Date: 05/12/08 DOCKET NO. 03-02 974 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco, Texas THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Curameng, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had over 21 years active duty service ending in December 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2002 rating decision by a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The veteran's notice of disagreement was received in October 2002. A statement of the case was issued in December 2002, and a substantive appeal was received in January 2003. The veteran testified at a personal hearing at the RO in January 2004. A transcript is of record. Although the veteran also appealed the issue of service connection for left knee disability, this benefit was granted by rating decision in March 2006 and is therefore no longer in appellate status. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND The veteran claims that he developed right knee disability as a result of his duties during service, to include climbind telephone poles with occasional falls from the poles. The Board also notes that service connection has been established for left knee disability, thus reasonably raising the prospect of service connection for right knee disability on a secondary basis, including by aggravation. Under these particular circumstances, the Board believes that VA's duty to assist the veteran required medical examination and an etiology opinion. Accordingly, the case is hereby REMANDED for the following actions: 1. The veteran should be scheduled for a VA examination to ascertain the nature and etiology of the claimed right knee disability. The claims file must be made available to the examiner for review in connection with the examination. Any medically indicated tests, such as x- rays, should be accomplished. The examiner should clearly report whether or not there is current chronic right knee disability. If so, the examiner should respond the following: a) Is it at least as likely as not (a 50% or higher degree of probability) that current right knee disability is causally related to the veteran's active duty service? b) Is it at least as likely as not (a 50% or higher degree of probability) that current right knee disability is proximately due to the service -connected left knee disability? c) Is it at least as likely as not (a 50% or higher degree of probability) that current right knee disability has been aggravated by the service -connected left knee disability? 2. After completion of the above, the RO should review the expanded record and determine if service connection is warranted for right knee disability, including on a secondary basis. If the claim remains denied, the veteran and his representative should be furnished an appropriate supplemental statement of the case and be afforded an opportunity to respond. Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for appellate review. The veteran and his representative have the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded to the regional office. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West 2002) (Historical and Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and 38.02-38.03. ____________________________________________ ALAN S. PEEVY Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007). Department of Veterans Affairs