Citation Nr: 20046955 Decision Date: 07/14/20 Archive Date: 07/14/20 DOCKET NO. 20-26 050 DATE: July 14, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for total right knee arthroplasty is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force (USAF) from September 1960 to May 1965. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2018 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Jurisdiction of this appeal is currently with the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Veteran was most recently afforded an examination for his total right knee arthroplasty in November 2019. Subsequently, in his June 2020 VA Form 9, the Veteran asserted that his right knee disorder had worsened in severity. Specifically, he asserted that the examiner did not take into consideration that the right knee needed to be revised, that there were flare-ups of the right knee, and asserted that the VA examination was inadequate. In addition, the Veteran submitted an October 2019 private treatment record indicating that the right knee needed to be revised. Moreover, the Board notes that a May 2020 VA treatment record indicates the Veteran complained of more pain in his right knee that before, and that his right knee disorder had worsened. As the above evidence indicates a possible worsening of that the Veteran’s total right knee arthroplasty since his last VA examination, an additional examination should be afforded to gauge the current level of severity of his disability. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The Veteran should be given the opportunity to identify any outstanding private or VA treatment records relevant to the claim on appeal. After obtaining any necessary authorization from the Veteran, all outstanding records should be obtained, to include updated VA treatment records. For private treatment records, make at least two (2) attempts to obtain records from any identified sources. If any such records are unavailable, inform the Veteran and his representative and afford him an opportunity to submit any copies in his possession. For federal records, all reasonable attempts should be made to obtain such records. If any records cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts have been made, issue a formal determination that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain such records would be futile, which should be documented in the claims file. The Veteran must be notified of the attempts made and why further attempts would be futile, and allowed the opportunity to provide such records, as provided in 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(b)(2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 2. Following the receipt of outstanding records, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his service-connected total right knee arthroplasty. The record, to include a copy of this Remand, should be made available to the examiner, and all indicated tests should be conducted. The examiner should identify the nature and severity of all current manifestations and residuals of the Veteran’s service-connected total right knee arthroplasty, to include painful motion or weakness. A rationale for any opinion offered should be provided. 3. After completing any other development that may be warranted, readjudicate the claim on appeal. Such readjudication must include all evidence generated since the April 2020 statement of the case. If the benefits sought are not granted, the Veteran and his representative must be furnished a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review. KRISTY L. ZADORA Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Mariah N. Sim, 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.