Citation Nr: 21004930 Decision Date: 01/28/21 Archive Date: 01/28/21 DOCKET NO. 15-12 179 DATE: January 28, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left thigh and pelvis disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from August 1954 to August 1957. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an August 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Diego, California. The Veteran’s appeal was most recently before the Board in April 2019. In its decision, the Board denied the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for a left thigh and pelvis disorder. The Veteran perfected an appeal of the Board’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the Court). In May 2020, the Court entered a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) vacating the April 2019 decision for reasons discussed more fully below and remanding the Veteran’s appeal to the Board. 1. Entitlement to Service Connection for a Left Thigh Disorder When VA provides an examination, it must ensure that the examination is adequate. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 312 (2007). Here, an October 2018 VA examination has been deemed inadequate by the Court. The parties to he JMR determined the October 2018 VA examination was inadequate for two reasons. First, the examiner responsible for the October 2018 VA examination failed to consider the Veteran’s February 2016 statement regarding a fall from an AmTrac during active service. Service personnel records show that he was an AmTrac crewman from July 1955 to January 1956. Second, the parties agreed that the October 2018 VA examination was inadequate because it did not comply with the Board’s May 2017 remand directives. The October 2018 VA examination was performed by a physician’s assistant even though the May 2017 remand directive specifically stated that the examination should be performed by a “physician with expertise of peripheral neurologic disorders.” Thus, the examination did not substantially comply with the May 2017 remand directives and was, therefore, inadequate. In light of the foregoing, the Veteran’s claim must be remanded to afford him an adequate VA examination. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination by a physician with expertise of peripheral neurologic disorders for his left hip and pelvis disorder. The examiner should identify any chronic disorder responsible for the Veteran’s pelvic and left thigh pain. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran’s condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a “disability” for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below.   The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: (a.) Is it at least as likely as not that the any left thigh and/or hip disorder onset during active service? (b.) Is any diagnosis affecting the Veteran’s left thigh and/or hip at least as likely as not related to service, including an in-service fall from an AmTrac vehicle during training at Camp Lejeune? Provide a rationale to support the opinions. In doing so, the examiner must address any private medical opinions of record, to include a February 2015 opinion from Dr. T.I., who concluded that the Veteran’s left hip and pelvic pain “may be due to a fall that he had during” active service. The examiner must also consider the Veteran’s February 2015 statement noting pain since 1957 and a February 2016 statement describing a fall from an AmTrac. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Douglas M. Humphrey, 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.