Citation Nr: 21072641 Decision Date: 12/03/21 Archive Date: 12/03/21 DOCKET NO. 18-02 855 DATE: December 3, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee strain is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1988 to July 1991. The Veteran appealed a September 2013 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). In August 2019, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim to the AOJ for further action consistent with the Board's remand directives. A Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) hearing was held in August 2021. A transcript is of record. The Veteran recently stated that her left knee condition has gotten worse. See August 2021 Board Hearing Tr. at 11, 14. The Veteran also noted in October 2021 that her "whole life has changed" and explained the impact of her left knee condition on her job and that she had to change shifts as a result. Where a Veteran contends that a disability has worsened since her last examination, and the last examination is too remote to constitute a contemporaneous examination, a new examination is required. See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403-04 (1997). Given evidence of worsening, the Board finds a new examination is warranted to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected left knee condition. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA and/or private treatment records relevant to treatment the Veteran received for her left knee condition that are not already of record, to include records from Pain Management Specialist, Dr. Patterson, and Dr. Sexton noted during the August 2021 Board hearing. All obtained records should be associated with the evidentiary record. If any identified records are not obtainable (or none exist), the Veteran and her representative should be notified, and the record clearly documented. 2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine the current severity of her left knee condition. The examiner must test the Veteran's active motion, passive motion, and pain with weight-bearing and without weight-bearing (if applicable). The examiner must also attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of any flare-ups, and the degree of functional loss during flare-ups. The examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to the Veteran's condition and discuss the effect of the Veteran's condition on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement, or an opinion regarding flare-ups, symptoms, or functional impairment without speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (no one could respond given medical science and the known facts), a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required), or the examiner (does not have the knowledge or training). 3. After the above development has been completed to the extent possible, readjudicate the claim. If any benefit sought remains denied, provide the Veteran and her representative with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), and return the case to the Board, if otherwise in order. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, Associate 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.