Citation Nr: 21072864
Decision Date: 12/06/21	Archive Date: 12/06/21

DOCKET NO. 17-49 492
DATE: December 6, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability is remanded.

 

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from May 1958 to November 1958 and from December 1959 to December 1963.

The case is on appeal from a November 2015 rating decision.

The Veteran requested a Board hearing, but did not show for the hearing scheduled in September 2021.  He has not subsequently renewed the request.  Thus, the Board finds that the request to testify at a hearing has been withdrawn.  See 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.700, 20.702(e), 20.704(e).  

1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.

2. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded.

3. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability is remanded.

The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for a low back disability and a bilateral knee disability because the claimed disabilities began during service.  More specifically, the Veteran asserts that the claimed disabilities are the result of an in-service accident.  A December 1960 service medical record notes an in-service accident.  A January 2021 medical treatment record shows a diagnosis of knee arthritis.  A November 2020 VA medical record shows a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine.

To date, the Veteran has not received a VA examination to determine the etiology of the claimed disabilities.  A remand is necessary to obtain a medical opinion on the etiology of the claimed disabilities.  McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the Veteran for an examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc., if an in-person examination is not feasible) by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of the claimed knee and low back conditions.

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

Is the condition at least as likely as not related to service, including a jeep accident in service in December 1960?  

In answering this question, the examiner is asked to consider the statements from the Veteran regarding his history of symptoms during and since service.  The examiner is asked to explain why his statements make it more or less likely that the current condition is related to service.  

If indicated, it should be explained whether there is a **medical** reason to believe that the Veteran's recollection of his symptoms during and after service may be inaccurate or not medically supported as the onset or cause of his current diagnosis.  Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed condition is known to develop, or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible?

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The examiner should not rely on silence in the medical records unless it can be explained: (a) why the silence in the available records can be taken as proof that the symptom(s) did not occur, including why the fact would have normally been recorded if present, or (b) why the absence of medical records is medically significant.

 

Corey Bosely

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. Cross, 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.