Citation Nr: 20060507 Decision Date: 09/15/20 Archive Date: 09/15/20 DOCKET NO. 12-18 424 DATE: September 15, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for post-surgical right foot drop associated with status post right ankle fracture is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1974 to June 1994. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2016 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 30 percent for post-surgical right foot drop associated with status post right ankle fracture is remanded. The Veteran contends that his initial rating of 30 percent for post-surgical right footdrop associated with status post right ankle fracture (afterwards right foot drop) is incorrect because it contemplates incomplete paralysis, but he maintains that the evidence supports complete paralysis. See Form 9 received 3/18/2018 at page 3. Though the Board regrets that it must again remand this matter, the Board finds that a remand is warranted for an adequate examination. The medical examination provided for by the Department of Veterans Affairs to a claimant for VA benefits must be thorough and contemporaneous and must consider prior medical examinations and treatments. El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013); 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d)(1); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4). A medical examination provided by the VA is considered adequate where the examination is based on consideration of the Veterans prior medical history and examinations and describes the disability in sufficient detail so that the BVA evaluation on the claimed disability will be a fully informed one. Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347, 1351 (2016). The May 2019 Board decision remanded this matter for an examination after finding that the RO did not provide an examination as directed by the May 2018 remand. See Remand BVA received 5/21/2019 at pages 5-6. Although an examination was provided in October 2019, the examination was inadequate because it did not adequately evaluate the Veteran’s right foot drop (which is rated under Diagnostic Code 8521) with the appropriate disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ). See C&P Exam received 10/08/2019. Here, instead of utilizing the DBQ for peripheral nerve conditions, the examiner used the DBQ for foot conditions. Therefore, the examiner could not provide the findings that would allow the Board to render a fully informed decision as to the level of the Veteran’s disability. El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013); 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d)(1); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4); see also Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected right foot drop. 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 examiner is “specifically directed to [identify]the nerve group(s) affected such that the appropriate diagnostic criteria can be analyzed”. See Remand BVA received 5/21/2019 at page 2. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Dixon, 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.