Citation Nr: 21070313 Decision Date: 11/23/21 Archive Date: 11/23/21 DOCKET NO. 17-28 467 DATE: November 23, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a back disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from April 2008 to June 2016. The Veteran testified before the undersigned at a November 2021 Board Hearing. The transcript from the hearing has not yet been associated with the file, as the case is being remanded under the Board's "One Touch" program. The hearing transcript will still be processed and associated with the claims file in the ordinary course of business. After the March 2017 Statement of the Case, the Veteran filed a substantive appeal which expressly limited her appeal to the right knee and low back disabilities. See May 2017 VA Form 9. Therefore, the only claims before the Board in this appeal are the right knee and back disability claims. The most recent VA treatment records associated with the claims file are from November 2018, but the Veteran indicated at her November 2021 Board Hearing that she continues to receive treatment from VA facilities. Any VA treatment records are within VA's constructive possession, and are considered potentially relevant to the issues on appeal. A remand is required to allow VA to obtain them. In addition, the claims file includes treatment records from German medical facilities from 2015 and 2016. Some of those records have not been translated to English. A complete set of the German medical records should be translated and included in the claims file, including because the Veteran testified at her Board hearing that there are findings relevant to the current claims in those records. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. The August 2016 VA examiner found that the Veteran did not have a right knee disability and the RO denied the claim on that basis. See March 2017 Statement of the Case. However, since that VA examination, the Veteran has been diagnosed with a right knee disability and had surgery on that knee. The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability because no VA examiner has opined whether the current right knee disability is related to her active service. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a back disability is remanded. The August 2016 VA examiner found that the Veteran did not have lumbar spine disability and the RO denied the claim on that basis. See March 2017 Statement of the Case. However, since that VA examination, the Veteran has been diagnosed with degenerative changes of the lumbar spine. See November 2017 VA MRI Report ("Degenerative changes in the lumbar spine with disc bulges with neural foramina narrowing"). The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability because no VA examiner has opined whether the current back disability is related to her active service. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from November 2018 to the Present. 2. Ensure that the claims file includes translations of all German-language medical records contained in the July 11, 2016 uploads to the claims file. 3. After the above development has been completed, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for the right knee disability. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Is the Veteran's right knee disability at least as likely as not related to service, including the February 2011 vehicle accident during service in which she suffered a knee injury? Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of her in-service injury and symptoms as well as 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 her current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about her 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? 4. After the above development has been completed, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for the lumber spine (back) disability. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Is the Veteran's back disability at least as likely as not related to service, including the February 2011 vehicle accident during service? Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of her in-service injury and symptoms as well as 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 her current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about her 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? MICHELLE L. KANE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Kerry Hubers 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.