Citation Nr: 18145151
Decision Date: 10/26/18	Archive Date: 10/26/18

DOCKET NO. 16-58 640
DATE:	October 26, 2018
REMANDED
A rating in excess of 10 percent for the left ankle is remanded.
A total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from January 1968 to October 1970.
This case is on appeal from a November 2013 rating decision.
In October 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing, after which he submitted updated VA treatment records.
1. A rating in excess of 10 percent for the left ankle.
A remand is necessary for a new examination of the severity of the Veteran’s left ankle disability.  At the Board hearing, the Veteran testified that his left ankle disability has worsened since his last VA examination in September 2016.  See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997).  Further, the September 2016 VA examination is not compliant with Correia v. McDonald which directs that the joints involved in a musculoskeletal disability be tested for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.  28 Vet. App. 158, 168 (2016).  These findings should be made as part of the examination on remand.
2. A TDIU.
A remand of the Veteran’s TDIU claim is also warranted as it is inextricably intertwined with the left ankle rating claim.  Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991).  
Further, updated information regarding the Veteran’s employment history is needed.  The Veteran previously indicated that he last worked in October 2009.  However, a January 2011 letter from his friend and former employer, Mr. [redacted], indicates that the Veteran worked in November and December 2010, and the Veteran testified at the Board hearing that he stopped working in 2012 or 2013.  Therefore, the RO should request that the Veteran return a completed VA Form 21-8940 disclosing more information about previous employment.
Finally, comment is needed on the combined effects of his left ankle and left femur/thigh disabilities on his employability.
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-8940 disclosing the details of his employment history. 
2. Afford the Veteran a VA examination to assess the severity of his left ankle disability.  Examination should include testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint.  Further, the examiner should comment upon the combined functional limitations on employment of the Veteran’s left ankle and left thigh/femur disabilities.

 
RYAN T. KESSEL
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	J. George