Citation Nr: 21065665 Decision Date: 10/27/21 Archive Date: 10/27/21 DOCKET NO. 18-10 240 DATE: October 27, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a disability of the right knee is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 25, 1977 to March 21, 1977. 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 January 2021, the Veteran testified at a video-conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the claims file. In July 2021, the Board remanded this matter for further development. That development having been completed, this matter has returned to the Board for further appellate review. In an August 2021 rating decision, the Veteran was granted service connection for osteopenia of the left knee. This represents a full grant of the benefit sought, therefore that issue is no longer on appeal. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156, 1158-59 (Fed. Cir. 1997). The Veteran's claim was denied, in pertinent part, because the August 2021 VA examiner did not find a chronic right knee disability. However, the medical evidence of record reflects that the Veteran experiences right knee pain with buckling. See June 2017 Primary Care Note. Accordingly, he may have a current disability. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356, 1367-68 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (holding that pain resulting in functional impairment constitutes a current disability, even without diagnosed underlying pathology). Additionally, the Veteran has been previously diagnosed with right knee osteopenia. As the symptoms described by the Veteran have remained consistent throughout the appeal period, it is unclear from the record whether this disability has resolved. The Board notes that this disability must be addressed, to include whether it has resolved. See McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319, 322-23 (2007). Finally, as this matter is being remanded, the Veteran's updated VA treatment records should be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Make arrangements to obtain the Veteran's updated VA treatment records, from August 2021, forward. 2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination (or telehealth interviews, reviews of the record, etc., if an in-person examination(s) is not feasible) to address the nature and etiology of his right knee condition. The entire claims file, to include a copy of this REMAND must be made available to the examiner in conjunction with the opinion. The examiner must confirm in the examination reports that he or she has reviewed the folder in conjunction with the examination. The examiner should elicit a full history from the Veteran. After reviewing the file, eliciting a full medical history from the Veteran, conducting an examination of the Veteran, performing any clinically indicated diagnostic testing, the examiner must provide answers to the following: (a) Identify, by diagnosis, each right knee condition found to be present. If the examiner is unable to find a current diagnosis, he or she must address the previous diagnosis of osteopenia, to include whether the previous diagnosis was in error or whether it has resolved. Identify all functional limitations caused by the Veteran's right knee symptoms, including any impact on his ability to work. (b) For each right knee condition found and/or knee symptoms resulting in functional impairment of earning capacity, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that it had its clinical onset during active service or is related to any incident of service, to include his in-service knee symptoms, diagnosed at the time as chondromalacia patella and ligamentous laxity. (c) If the answer to (b) is no, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that each right knee condition was either (i) caused by, or (ii) aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus or left knee condition (if found to be service connected), to include by any alteration in gait or station associated therewith. In reaching this opinion, the examiner should consider and address the Cleveland Clinic article which states, in part, that flat feet may increase the likelihood of chondromalacia patella. The examiner must include a complete rationale for all opinions provided. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. M. Stedman, 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.