Citation Nr: 21069082 Decision Date: 11/17/21 Archive Date: 11/17/21 DOCKET NO. 19-14 878 DATE: November 17, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, the claim for service connection for a right knee disorder is reopened. New and material evidence having been received, the claim for service connection for a left knee disorder is reopened. New and material evidence having been received, the claim for service connection for a back disorder is reopened. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a back disorder is remanded. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a November 2012 rating decision, service connection for bilateral knee and back disorders were denied on the basis that there was no evidence showing relationships to service. 2. Evidence received after the November 2012 denial relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate those claims of service connection. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a right knee disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). 2. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a left knee disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). 3. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a back disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active military service from September 1981 to February 1990. He testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge during a February 2021 hearing. This matter is on appeal from a January 2018 rating decision. New and Material Evidence With regards to the claims for his knees, the Veteran did not submit a substantive appeal in response to a September 2015 Statement of the Case (SOC) following a November 2012 rating decision denying service connection on the basis that there was no evidence showing a relationship to service. He did not submit a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) in response to the same rating decision denying service connection for a back disorder, also on the basis that there was no evidence showing a relationship to service. 38 U.S.C. § 7105. Evidence received since that decision includes a private March 2019 rating decision relating the Veteran's bilateral knee and back disorders to his service-connected bilateral ankle and feet disabilities. This evidence is new to the record, as it suggests relationships to service-connected conditions, relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate those claims for service connection, and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims. The claims are thus reopened, and are addressed in the remand below. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for right knee, left knee, and back disorders is remanded. The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issues of service connection for bilateral knee and back disorders because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran's disorders are secondary to his service-connected bilateral ankle and feet disabilities. The private March 2019 opinion relating bilateral knee and back disorders to the service-connected bilateral ankle and feet disabilities did not include a rationale. A remand is necessary to afford him VA examinations. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. In accordance with the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(1), make efforts to obtain all records identified by the Veteran, including any outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the etiology of any diagnosed bilateral knee and back disorders. (Multiple examinations may instead be conducted, and most likely are necessitated; the Board leaves this to the discretion of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) and the facility at which any examination is to be conducted.) The most up-to-date Disability Benefits Questionnaire(s) should be utilized. For any right and left knee and back disorders diagnosed, the examiner(s) is requested to review the record and offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (at least an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence) that any diagnoses are related to the Veteran's active service, or are caused or aggravated by the service-connected bilateral ankle and/or feet disabilities. (If any bilateral knee and/or back disorder is found to have been aggravated by the service-connected bilateral ankle and/or feet disorders, the examiner should quantify the approximate degree of aggravation.) The examiner should consider the private March 2019 opinion relating the Veteran's bilateral knee and back disorders to his service-connected bilateral ankle and feet disabilities. The examiner should also consider the treatment for back pain in 1987 and 1989, as well as his November 1989 separation examination report of medical history in which the Veteran answered yes to recurrent back pain and "trick" or locked knee. A complete rationale is needed for all opinions expressed. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Barstow, 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.