Citation Nr: 20036764 Decision Date: 05/28/20 Archive Date: 05/28/20 DOCKET NO. 16-45 041 DATE: May 28, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 30 percent disabling for residuals of total left knee replacement is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the United States Air Force from July 1972 to August 1976. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2013 rating decision from a Regional Office (RO) for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). An informal conference in lieu of a formal hearing was held before a Decision Review Officer (DRO) of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) in January 2016. An informal conference report has been associated with the claims file. As service connection for right knee total replacement was granted in an October 2016 VA rating decision, the Board finds that this is a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal and the issue of service connection for right knee total replacement is not before the Board. In a September 2016 substantive appeal document, the Veteran requested a live videoconference Board hearing at his local VA office. However, an April 2020 Report of General Information, the Veteran informed VA that he received a letter from the Board regarding an appeal that has already been settled and asked for the hearing to be cancelled. Accordingly, the Board considers his request for a hearing to be withdrawn and will proceed to adjudicate the case based on the evidence of record. See 38 C.F.R.§ 20.704(d), (e). Additionally, the Board notes that during the same telephone call with VA, the Veteran indicated he wanted to cancel the appeal. According to 38 C.F.R. § 20.204 (b), when an appeal is not withdrawn on the record at a hearing, withdrawal of an appeal must be in writing and must include the name of the Veteran, the applicable claim number, and a statement that the appeal is being withdrawn. The claim also must be received by the Board prior to issuance of a decision regarding the claim or claims being withdrawn. Id. The Veteran was notified in a November 2016 supplemental statement of the case that he would need to explicitly request withdrawal of the appeal in writing, but there is no written statement from the Veteran to this effect. Therefore, the criteria for withdrawal of an appeal have not been met and the claim remains before the Board. Id. 1. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 30 percent disabling for residuals of total left knee replacement is remanded. The Veteran contends that his total left knee replacement disability is more severe than is currently rated. The Veteran last underwent a VA examination for this disability in January 2016, over four years ago. When it is indicated that the severity of a service-connected disability has increased since the most recent rating examination, an additional examination is appropriate. See Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377 (1995); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991). As the Veteran’s complaints and assertions indicate possible worsening of the service-connected condition, the Veteran should be afforded a more contemporaneous VA examination to address the severity of this condition. Additionally, the Board also notes that the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) in Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), held that the final sentence of 38 C.F.R. § 4.59 requires that VA examinations include joint testing for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with range of motion measurements of the opposite undamaged joint. Thus, the Court’s holding in Correia establishes additional requirements that must be met prior to finding that a VA examination is adequate. The January 2016 VA examination do not demonstrate that range of motion testing was performed for both passive and active motion, in both weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing. Thus, at present, the current medical evidence of record does not fully satisfy the requirements of Correia and 38 C.F.R. § 4.59. As such, remand is required to afford the Veteran a new VA examination for the purpose of ascertaining the current severity and manifestations of the Veteran’s service-connected total left knee replacement disability, which complies with Correia. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate any outstanding VA treatment records with the Veteran’s electronic claims file. (Continued on the next page)   2. After the above development and any additionally indicated development, the Veteran should be scheduled for a VA examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity and symptomatology of his service-connected total left knee replacement disability. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. The entire claims folder should be made available and reviewed by the examiner. Any and all studies, tests, and evaluations deemed necessary by the examiner should be performed, and all findings should be reported in detail. H. SEESEL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board E. Romero-Sanchez, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.