Citation Nr: 18155764 Decision Date: 12/06/18 Archive Date: 12/06/18 DOCKET NO. 17-31 205 DATE: December 6, 2018 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim for service connection for a left knee disability is reopened and to that extent only the appeal is granted. REMANDED Service connection for a left knee disability is remanded. Service connection for hearing loss is remanded. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a May 1972 rating decision, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied service connection for a bilateral knee disability; the Veteran did not appeal the decision and new and material evidence was not received within the one-year appeal period. 2. Evidence associated with the record since the May 1972 decision relates to unestablished facts and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW New and material evidence has been received and the claim seeking service connection for a left knee disability is reopened. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7105; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1955 to November 1957. If a claim of entitlement to service connection has been previously denied and that decision became final, the claim can be reopened and reconsidered only if new and material evidence is presented with respect to that claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5108. New evidence means existing evidence not previously submitted to agency decision-makers. Material evidence means existing evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened, and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). The credibility of the evidence is presumed for purposes of reopening the claim. See Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510, 513 (1992). The threshold for reopening is low. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110, 117 (2010). The RO denied the Veteran’s claim of service connection for a bilateral knee disability in a May 1972 rating decision, finding that the Veteran did not have a current knee disability. The Veteran was provided notice of this decision and his appellate rights but did not appeal the decision or submit new and material evidence within one year of the decision. Therefore, the decision is final. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.104, 19.118, 19.153 (1972). The evidence received since the May 1972 rating decision includes evidence that is both new and material to the claim. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.156. For example, VA treatment records and a March 2017 letter form the Veteran’s private physician. This new evidence addresses the reason for the previous denial; that is, a current disability, and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. The credibility of this evidence is presumed for purposes of reopening the claim. See Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510, 513 (1992). Accordingly, the claim is reopened and will be considered on the merits. REASONS FOR REMAND The issues of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss and a left knee disability are remanded to ensure a complete record is available for review by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board). The evidence reflects the Veteran sought private treatment for the issues on appeal. In March 2017 VA received a letter from his private treatment provider regarding his left knee disability, a hearing evaluation report, and authorization forms for VA to obtain the Veteran’s private treatment records from November 2012 to May 2016 and August 2016 to March 2017. The record is absent evidence VA attempted to obtain the identified private treatment records. As such, remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran’s outstanding private treatment records. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(c). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Ask the Veteran to identify all outstanding treatment records relevant to his hearing loss and left knee disability claims. All identified VA records should be added to the claims file. All other properly identified records should be obtained if the necessary authorization to obtain the records is provided by the Veteran. Records identified in March 2017 should be sought with any needed assistance from the Veteran. If any records are not available, or the Veteran identifies sources of treatment but does not provide authorization to obtain records, appropriate action should be taken to include notifying the Veteran of the unavailability of the records. Nathan Kroes Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Gonzalez, Associate Counsel