Citation Nr: 21064870 Decision Date: 10/21/21 Archive Date: 10/21/21 DOCKET NO. 15-43 503 DATE: October 21, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left hip trochanteric bursitis is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The appellant served on active duty in the U.S. Army from October 1986 to December 1992. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a September 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which, inter alia, awarded service connection for left hip trochanteric bursitis and assigned an initial noncompensable rating, effective March 14, 2014, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5252, pertaining to limitation of flexion of the thigh. A July 2016 rating decision, inter alia, increased the evaluation of left hip trochanteric bursitis to 10 percent, effective March 14, 2014, and awarded a separate 10 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5253 for impairment of adduction of the left thigh, effective June 3, 2016. AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App.35, 38 (1993). The appellant was afforded a Board hearing before the undersigned by videoconference in February 2019. A transcript is of record. In October 2020, the Board, inter alia, denied entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left hip trochanteric bursitis. The appellant appealed the Board's decision to the U.S Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In August 2021, the appellant's then-representative and the VA General Counsel filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand. Later that month, the Court granted the Joint Motion, vacated only the portion of the Board's October 2020 decision which denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left hip trochanteric bursitis, and remanded the case to the Board for readjudication consistent with the Joint Motion. 1. Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left hip trochanteric bursitis. In accordance with the August 2021 Joint Motion, the matter is being remanded in order to afford the appellant a new examination to determine the severity and manifestations of his service-connected left hip trochanteric bursitis and to obtain a clarifying opinion as to the severity and manifestations of such for the entire period on appeal. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Afford the appellant an examination from an appropriate examiner to determine the current severity and manifestations of his service-connected left hip trochanteric bursitis. Access to the claims file must be made available to the examiner for review in connection with the examination. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the appellant's disability under the rating criteria. The examiner should test for both active and passive motion, as well as weight-bearing and non-weight bearing. The examiner should comment on the severity of any painful motion or weakness. If pain is noted, the point during range of motion at which pain begins and ends must be clearly indicated. The examiner should also provide range of motion measurements, including at what point in the arc of motion pain limits function both regularly and during any flare-ups, even if a flare-up is not observed on that day. In addressing the nature of any disability during a flare-up the examiner must address the severity of the flare-up, the frequency and duration of the flare-up, and all precipitating and alleviating factors. The examiner should also provide range of motion measurements following repetitive use over time. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement based on direct observation, the examiner should provide an estimate, if at all possible, of the additional impairment due to flare-ups or repetitive use over time based on the other evidence of record and the appellant's statements. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement without speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (no one could respond given medical science and the known facts), a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required), or the examiner (does not have the knowledge or training). Additionally, for the period from March 14, 2014, the examiner should delineate all symptoms associated with the appellant's service-connected left hip trochanteric bursitis. The examiner should provide estimated range of motion and repetitive motion findings in degrees for the left hip in active and passive motion and weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing since March 2014, including during the August 2014 contracted examination and the June 2016 and December 2019 VA examinations. Additionally, the examiner should opine retrospectively on any further functional limitations due to pain, weakness, fatigue, incoordination, or any other such factors, by providing an estimated degree of additional range of motion loss due to pain on use or during flare-ups since March 2014, including during the August 2014 contracted examination and the June 2016 and December 2019 VA examinations. If the examiner is unable to provide a retrospective opinion, he or she should clearly explain why that is so. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Behlen, 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.