Citation Nr: 21073776 Decision Date: 12/10/21 Archive Date: 12/10/21 DOCKET NO. 16-08 410 DATE: December 10, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for the period prior to July 24, 2019 and a rating in excess of 10 percent for the period thereafter for chronic urticaria (hives) is remanded. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of the left knee is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1998 to August 2004. These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2013 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In September 2019, the RO increased the Veteran's disability ratings for chronic urticaria to 10 percent (effective July 24, 2019) and degenerative joint disease of the left knee to 10 percent (effective June 20, 2013). As the increased ratings are less than the maximum under the applicable criteria, the claims remain on appeal. See AB v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 35, 38 (1993). A Board hearing was held before the undersigned in December 2020. A transcript of the hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for the period prior to July 24, 2019 and a rating in excess of 10 percent for the period thereafter for chronic urticaria (hives) is remanded. 2. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of the left knee is remanded. The Board finds further development is required before a decision can be made on the Veteran's claims. At the outset, the Board notes that the Veteran reported receiving private treatment for his conditions, as noted in the December 2020 Board hearing transcript. As these records may contain information pertinent to his claims, remand is required to allow the Veteran to submit authorization for VA to obtain those records. Regarding the Veteran's increased rating claim for chronic urticaria, the record reflects that the Veteran underwent a VA examination in July 2019. At the December 2020 hearing, the Veteran's representative indicated that the Veteran's outbreaks of urticaria are unpredictable and that at the time of the last examination he was not undergoing an outbreak and that as a result the examination did not accurately reflect the extent of his urticaria. As such, the Board finds that remand for a new examination is needed. The Board further finds that attempts should be made to coordinate with the Veteran to schedule the examination during a flare up of the condition. Cf. Ardison v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 405, 407-08 (1994) (concluding that examination during a remission phase of a skin condition was not adequate). Regarding the Veteran's increased rating claim for his left knee condition, during the December 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran and his representative alleged that the July 2019 VA examination did not accurately reflect the severity of his left knee condition. Additionally, a review of the examination report reflects that passive range of motion testing could not be performed or was not medically appropriate; however, the examiner did not provide an explanation for this finding. In light of this, the Board finds remand for a new VA examination necessary. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records for the period from October 2021 to the present. 2. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any treatment he has received for his chronic urticaria and degenerative joint disease of the left knee. Make two requests for any authorized records, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 3. After completing the development requested in items 1 and 2, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected chronic urticaria. Given the intermittent nature of this condition, efforts should be made to coordinate the scheduling of the examination with the Veteran so that it is performed at a time when the skin condition is active unless there is sufficient information (e.g., from treatment records) to determine that this is not required. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If the clinician cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the clinician must provide the reasons why an opinion would require speculation. The clinician must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. 4. After completing the development requested in items 1 and 2, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with an appropriate clinician to assess the current severity of his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee. The entire claims file should be made available to the examiner in conjunction with this request. All testing deemed necessary to rate the Veteran's condition under the criteria of the rating schedule must be conducted and the results reported in detail. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. M. SORISIO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Jiggetts 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.