Citation Nr: 21069124
Decision Date: 11/17/21	Archive Date: 11/17/21

DOCKET NO. 19-18 780
DATE: November 17, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder, to include as secondary to the service-connected right knee disability, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service form September 1987 to August 1990.

This matter is on appeal from a January 2019 rating decision.

The Veteran had a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in October 2021.

1.  Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder, to include as secondary to the service-connected right knee disability, is remanded.

The Veteran contends that over the years he has favored his service-connected right knee and now has pain in his left knee, as indicated in a July 2019 VA medical record.  The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of service connection for a left knee disorder because no VA examiner has opined whether he has a current one due to service or developed secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.  

Any unassociated amrs should also be obtained.  The July 2019 VA medical record also indicated that X-rays had been ordered for the left knee, but are not associated with the claims file.

The matters are REMANDED for the following actions:

1.  Any unassociated VA medical records should be obtained, to include any left knee X-rays, if such records exist.

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his left knee disorder claim.  The examiner must review the claims file, to include lay evidence.

If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below.

The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following:

a.	Is the left knee disorder at least as likely as not related to service?    

If the left knee disorder is not found to be directly related to service, the examiner is asked to provide the following opinion:

b.	Is a left knee disorder at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated, i.e., worsened beyond its natural progression by the service-connected right knee disability?

Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s).  

In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of his/her in-service injury and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms.  If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current disability, this should be noted.  Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible?

 

 

H.M. WALKER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A. Lindio

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.