Citation Nr: 21068867
Decision Date: 11/15/21	Archive Date: 11/15/21

DOCKET NO. 15-25 318
DATE: November 15, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for left hip disability, to include a secondary to a back disability, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1970 to December 1996.

The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned in October 2017. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. 

The Board most recently remanded the claim in March 2021. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand directives and the claim must be remanded again. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 

Subsequent to the Board remand, service connection was granted for bilateral hearing loss. See July 2021 rating decision. That the issue is no longer before the Board. See generally Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 116 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Barrera v. Gober, 122 F.3d 1030 (Fed. Cir. 1997).

Entitlement to service connection for left hip disability, to include a secondary to a back disability, is remanded.

The claim must be remanded again because the July and August 2021 VA opinions are inadequate. The July 2021 opinion was internally inconsistent. The examiner provided a positive opinion but the rationale was negative because the medical records were silent for a left hip complaint during service. The examiner repeated the negative opinion and rationale in the August 2021 addendum. 

The opinions are inadequate because the basis is essentially a lack of documented treatment during service. The examiner did not consider the Veteran's competent lay report that he did lots of physical activity in service and that over time he developed left hip pain and he has been unable to run or jog. 

On remand, outstanding treatment records must be associated with the record in a format that the Board can review. In the prior remand, the Board directed that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) ensure that treatment records that had been scanned into CPRS and VISTA Imaging be associated with the record for Board review. Additional records were associated with the record; however, it is unclear whether complete treatment records have been associated with record so the Board can review them.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Take all appropriate action to obtain and associate with the claims file all treatment records regarding the Veteran that are scanned into CPRS and VISTA Imaging.

2. After completion of the above, forward copies of all pertinent records to a VA clinician to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's left hip disability. If examination is deemed necessary to respond to the questions presented, one should be scheduled (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc., if an in-person examination is not feasible). The examiner must answer the following questions:

Is left hip disability at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent or greater probability) related to service, including physical activity in service?

In rendering the opinion the examiner must comment on any impact of the Veteran's reported in service physical activity.

Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s).

 

 

M.E. LARKIN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Robert J. Burriesci, 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.