Citation Nr: 21069575
Decision Date: 11/18/21	Archive Date: 11/18/21

DOCKET NO. 17-14 625
DATE: November 18, 2021

REMANDED

The claim for an increased rating, in excess of 10 percent disabling, for right knee tricompartmental degenerative changes (right knee degenerative disease) is remanded.

The claim for an increased rating, in excess of 10 percent disabling, for right knee instability is remanded.

The claim for an increased rating, in excess of 10 percent, for left knee tricompartmental degenerative changes (left knee degenerative disease) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1984 to January 1992.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In August 2021, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of this hearing is of record.

The Board regrets further delay, as an additional development is required before the Board may render a fully-informed decision on all of the issues on appeal.

At her hearing, the Veteran testified that her service-connected right and left knee (bilateral knee) disabilities have worsened since her last VA examination.  See August 2021 Hearing Transcript.

The last time the Veteran underwent a VA examination for knee and lower leg conditions was in February 2015.  Thus, as it has been six years since the last time the Veteran underwent a VA examination for her bilateral knee disabilities, a remand is required for a new, contemporaneous VA examination on the current severity of her bilateral knee disabilities.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Schedule the Veteran for a new VA examination on the current severity of her right and left knee (bilateral) knee disabilities.  The appropriate disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ) form should be utilized.  The VA examiner must undertake the following:

a.	Conduct range of motion testing for the bilateral knee, specifically noting the motion in degrees, in both active motion and passive motion, and in both weight-bearing and non-weightbearing.  See Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158, 169  170 (2016).

b.	If the Veteran reports any periods of flare ups, but range of motion testing could not be conducted during a flare up, state the severity, frequency, and duration; name the precipitating and alleviating factors; and estimate, according to the Veteran, to what extent, if any, they affect functional impairment.  See Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26, 32 (2017).

c.	In conducting this examination, the VA examiner must indicate whether pain could significantly limit functional ability during flare-ups, or with repeated use over a period of time; and specifically, where feasible, describe any limitations, in terms of the degree of additional range-of-motion loss due to pain on use or flare-ups.

d.	If the VA examiner concludes that functional loss cannot be determined without resorting to speculation, the VA examiner must indicate this, with a clear detailed rationale.

 

 

M. Tenner

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	V-N. Pratt

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.