Citation Nr: 21062079 Decision Date: 10/06/21 Archive Date: 10/06/21 DOCKET NO. 17-47 655 DATE: October 6, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for a right ankle disability is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for chronic bronchitis is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for hypertension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from January 1970 to July 1972, and from August 1985 to June 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In June 2021 written correspondence, the Veteran's attorney cancelled the Veteran's request for a hearing. Thus, the Veteran's hearing request is deemed withdrawn. 38 C.F.R. § 20.704 (d). With regard to appellate review, the Board finds that further development is necessary before the Board can properly adjudicate the claims. In this regard, the Board notes that in a July 2021 written correspondence, the Veteran requested new examinations as he reported his right ankle, bronchitis, and hypertension have worsened since his last examinations in 2015. He specifically reported that his hypertension has caused coronary artery disease (CAD); he has reduced lung capacity and daily coughing fits due to his bronchitis; and he has decreased range of motion and functional loss in his right ankle. The duty to conduct a contemporaneous examination is triggered when the evidence indicates that there has been a material change in disability or that the currently assigned disability rating may be incorrect. See Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1994); see also Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997) (holding that a Veteran is entitled to a new examination after a two-year period between the last VA examination and the Veteran's contention that the pertinent disability had increased in severity). Therefore, as the Veteran contends the conditions have worsened and several years have lapsed since the last VA examinations, remand is required for these claims to obtain new examinations. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records and associate them with the Veteran's claims folder. 2. Schedule the Veteran for examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected right ankle, chronic bronchitis, and hypertension. RIGHT ANKLE: 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. Range of motion in active motion, passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing, for both the right and left ankles must be conducted. If the examiner is unable to conduct the required testing or concludes that the required testing is not necessary in this case, he or she should clearly explain why that is so. The rationale for all opinions expressed must be provided. In particular, the examiner is directed to estimate the degree of functional loss during flareups and with repeated use over time, as represented by lost range of motion of the right ankle. The examiner must elicit from the Veteran such information as is necessary to make such a determination. It is understood that any determination of functional loss in situations not under direct observation is an estimate, the furnishing of which may require the examiner to engage in a degree of speculation. BRONCHITIS: 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, including all necessary pulmonary function testing and results. HYPERTENSION: 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, including all necessary testing and results. 3. Then readjudicate the claims. GAYLE STROMMEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. Laffitte, 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.