Citation Nr: 21063159 Decision Date: 10/13/21 Archive Date: 10/13/21 DOCKET NO. 10-26 932 DATE: October 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from May 1981 to May 2003. This matter came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2003 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2016 the Veteran testified before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a Travel Board hearing. A transcript of this hearing is of record. In July 2021, the Veteran was notified that the VLJ who held her May 2016 hearing was no longer employed by the Board. The Veteran did not respond to the offer for another hearing. 38 C.F.R. § 20.604. The Board remanded this matter for further development in August 2016. As discussed below, there has not been substantial compliance with the remand instructions, so the matter must be remanded again. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); D'Aries v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 97, 105 (2008). 1. Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability is remanded. The Veteran seeks service connection for a left hip disability. The Veteran is service connected for a back disability. The Veteran asserts that during her military service while she was stationed in Fort Myer, VA she was in an MVA where her car was hit on the driver's side, causing her car to roll over and smash her seat in. She indicated that she experienced a lot of pain in her hip and was taken to a hospital. The Veteran stated that her hip did not recover, and she experienced worsening intermittent pain. She also indicated that running and marching during service worsened her left hip disability. The Veteran further stated that her doctor informed her that her service-connected back disability could be the cause of her left hip disability, because after her 2013 hip replacement one of her legs was shorter than the other, which resulted in an altered gait. The August 2016 Board remand instructed the RO to obtain a VA examination for the Veteran's left hip and requested an opinion on whether the Veteran's left hip disability was incurred in or caused by her military service or caused or aggravated by her service-connected back disability. The October 2016 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's left hip disability was not caused by or incurred in service and was not caused or aggravated by her service-connected back disability. The VA examiner stated that the Veteran's MVA during her military service did not damage her hip and indicated that her left hip pain started in 2003. However, the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) from November 1982 indicate that the Veteran complained of left hip pain and indicated that she was in an MVA and was taken to a hospital where broken glass was removed from her left side. The STRs also note moderate swelling and a limited range of motion in the Veteran's left hip. Additional November 1982 STRs show that the Veteran was put on temporary physical profile until December 1982 for a left hip issue. Because the October 2016 VA examiner's opinion was based on an inaccurate factual history, the Board finds that this opinion has little probative value. See Reonal v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 458, 461 (1993). Additionally, the examiner must also consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of symptomatology. See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23 (2007). The Board additionally notes that the Veteran's November 1982 STRs indicate that the Veteran was taken to DC General Hospital after her MVA in October 1982. On remand, the RO should obtain authorization from the Veteran to obtain these records. The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain any outstanding pertinent VA treatment records for the Veteran's left hip disability that are not currently of record. 2. Contact the Veteran and request that she provide authorization to request medical records from D.C. General Hospital from October 1982 to November 1982 pertaining to treatment for her MVA. After securing the necessary authorization for release of that information, obtain copies of these medical records. 3. Obtain an addendum opinion by an appropriately qualified examiner other than an examiner who has previously offered an opinion, to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's left hip disability. The entire claims file, to include a copy of this REMAND, must be provided to the examiner and reviewed in full. That review must be noted in the report. Thereafter, the examiner is asked to provide an opinion with respect to the following: 4. Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's left hip disability was incurred in or caused by an in-service injury, illness, or event? 5. Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's left hip disability was caused by her service-connected back disability? 6. Is it at least as likely as not that the Veteran's left hip disability was aggravated beyond its natural progression by her service-connected back disability? 7. In providing this opinion, the examiner is requested to address the following: (1) The Veteran's November 1982 STRs indicating that the Veteran complained of left hip pain and stated that she was in an MVA and had glass removed from her left side and also noting swelling and a limited range of motion in the Veteran's left hip, and additional November 1982 STRs indicating that the Veteran was put on temporary physical profile for a left hip issue; and (2) the Veteran's contentions of the onset of her in-service injury and continuity of symptomology. The examiner must provide a rationale for each opinion. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Ahuva D. Sunshine 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.