Citation Nr: 18154854 Decision Date: 11/30/18 Archive Date: 11/30/18 DOCKET NO. 16-55 588 DATE: November 30, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for left shoulder disability, to include rotator cuff tendinitis and impingement, is remanded. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for right shoulder disability, to include degenerative arthritis and impingement, is remanded. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for chronic left knee strain is remanded. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability based on service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1971 to December 1978 and from June 1979 to July 1997. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. 1. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for left shoulder disability, to include rotator cuff tendinitis and impingement, is remanded. 2. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 20 percent for right shoulder disability to include degenerative arthritis and impingement is remanded. 3. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for chronic left knee strain is remanded. 4. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative arthritis is remanded. In November 2015, VA attempted to schedule VA examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s bilateral knee and shoulder disabilities. According to a November 2015 Report of General Information, the Veteran was an RV traveler and provided an address for examination requests. According to a December 2015 Request for Physical Examination, the VA examinations for the knee and shoulder were cancelled because the Veteran failed to make a reservation. However, it appears that the address on record in the December 2015 Request for Physical Examination does not match the address provided by the Veteran in November 2015. Further, in an October 2017 correspondence, the Veteran’s attorney expressly requested that his office be copied on all correspondences to the Veteran, specifically notification of any VA examinations. As such, the Board finds that an additional attempt to schedule the Veteran for VA examinations is warranted. 5. Entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability based on service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is remanded. In Rice v. Shinseki, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) held that a TDIU rating is part of an increased rating claim when such issue is raised by the record. Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447 (2009). The Board finds that the Veteran’s TDIU claim is part and parcel of the increased rating claims on appeal, and is properly before the Board. The Board finds that the claim of entitlement to TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the remanded claims for higher disability ratings. The appropriate remedy for an inextricably intertwined issue is to remand it pending resolution of the inextricably intertwined issues. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any all outstanding pertinent VA and/or private treatment records. 2. After completing the above, to the extent possible, schedule the Veteran for an examination of the current severity of his bilateral knee and shoulder disabilities. Notification of the VA examinations must be sent to the Veteran’s current address of record and his attorney, Eric A. Gang. The examiner must test the Veteran’s active motion, passive motion, and pain with weight-bearing and without weight-bearing. The examiner must also attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of any flare-ups, and the degree of functional loss during flare-ups. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to his disabilities alone and discuss the effect of the Veteran’s disabilities on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living. The examiner should also state whether the examination is taking place during a period of flare-up. If not, the examiner should ask the Veteran to describe the flare-ups he experiences, including: frequency, duration, characteristics, precipitating and alleviating factors, severity and/or extent of functional impairment he experiences during a flare-up of his knee and/or shoulder symptoms and/or after repeated use over time. Based on the Veteran’s lay statements and the other evidence of record, the examiner should provide an opinion estimating any additional degrees of limited motion caused by functional loss during a flare-up or after repeated use over time. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E. Ko, Associate Counsel