Citation Nr: 18140675 Decision Date: 10/05/18 Archive Date: 10/04/18 DOCKET NO. 14-37 370 DATE: October 5, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left knee condition is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from February 1976 to February 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2013 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Boston, Massachusetts. The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned in December 2015. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee and right knee condition are remanded. The Veteran asserts that he developed a left knee and right knee condition as a result of parachute jumps during service. See December 2015 Video Hearing Transcript at 6. The Board notes, for his meritorious service, the Veteran was awarded (among other decorations), the Parachute Badge. The Veteran competently testified to having recurrent left knee and right knee problems since service. Specifically, he testified that half way through his jump training both of his knees began acting up; however, he did not think it was worth seeking medical treatment. The Veteran is competent to report symptoms he experienced during and post service and the Board finds his accounts credible. Additionally, the Veteran submitted buddy statements from friends and family members who report seeing the Veteran struggling with symptoms since discharge, corroborating his account. While the Board finds the Veteran’s reports regarding the onset of his left knee and right knee conditions during service and the resulting symptoms credible, the evidence of record does not contain a current diagnosis for a left knee or right knee condition. The Board is without medical expertise to determine whether the Veteran has a current diagnosis. The Veteran’s claim for service connection must be remanded to obtain a VA examination. The Board notes that the Veteran was scheduled for a VA examination in April 2013. At his December 2015 hearing, the Veteran explained, that he did not report for that examination because he had moved and was not aware of it. The Board finds that competent medical evidence is required to resolve this matter. Consequently, a remand is required to accord the Veteran a competent medical examination and opinion. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and request that he identify any and all outstanding VA and private treatment records related to his bilateral knee conditions. After obtaining the necessary authorization forms from the Veteran, obtain any pertinent records and associate them with claims file. 2. Notify the Veteran that he may submit lay statements from himself and from other individuals who have first-hand knowledge, and/or were contemporaneously informed of his left knee or right knee symptomatology. The Veteran should be provided an appropriate amount of time to submit this lay evidence. 3. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed left knee or right knee conditions. a. The claims file must be reviewed by the examiner, who should diagnose all current left knee and right knee conditions found to be present. b. Thereafter, based on the medical findings and the Veteran’s competent report as to the onset of his left knee or right knee problems, the examiner is asked to opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any currently diagnosed left knee or right knee disabilities are related to and/or had their onset during his period of service. The examiner must specifically acknowledge and discuss the Veteran’s complaints of knee pain during service and since service, the corroborating buddy statements regarding the Veteran’s knee problems since service, and the Veteran’s parachute jumps (including receiving the Parachute Badge) during active duty service. In offering this assessment, the examiner must assume as true that the Veteran has had recurrent right knee and left knee problems since service and should discuss whether he has functional impairment of the right and/or left knee. The examiner should be aware that functional impairment is defined as the inability of the body or a constituent part of it “‘to function under the ordinary conditions of daily life including employment All indicated and necessary tests and studies must be performed. The examination report must include a complete rationale for all opinions expressed. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Jacquelynn M. Jordan, Associate Counsel