Citation Nr: 21074079
Decision Date: 12/14/21	Archive Date: 12/14/21

DOCKET NO. 11-05 648
DATE: December 14, 2021

REMANDED

The appeal for entitlement to a disability rating greater than 10 percent prior to October 27, 2014; greater than 30 percent from December 1, 2015; and greater than 60 percent from May 6, 2021; for right knee arthritis, post total knee replacement, is remanded.

The appeal for entitlement to a disability rating greater than 10 percent prior to July 21, 2014; greater than 30 percent from September 1, 2015; and greater than 60 percent from May 6, 2021; for left knee arthritis, post total knee replacement, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1982 to September 2003.

This matter has a long procedural history, arising from a December 2008 Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) decision which assigned a 20 percent disability rating for arthritis of both knees.  The Veteran appealed this rating, asserting higher disability ratings were warranted.  

Since that time, the Board has remanded the appeal four times, most recently in February 2021.  Over this period, the Veteran's medical situation surrounding her knees has changed significantly, as she underwent total knee replacement surgeries for each knee in 2014.  The currently assigned disability ratings are as reflected above.  The Veteran continues to assert that higher disability ratings are warranted at each stage of the ratings assigned. 

The prior Board remands were primarily necessitated by changing legal standards, as new Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) precedents were issued over the years that this appeal has been ongoing.  Updated VA examinations were appropriately provided, and updated VA treatment records also obtained over the years.  Therefore, the record on appeal contains a fair amount of longitudinal information regarding the condition of the Veteran's knees and the functional limitations she has experienced over the years. 

However, review of the newly obtained VA treatment records shows that the Veteran receives private orthopedic care for her knees.  Indeed, the VA treatment records mostly reference her knees by history, and do not contain significant information regarding evaluation and treatment for her knees.  The most recent private treatment records contained in her claims file are dated in 2014.  As these private records should prove highly relevant to the question of the most appropriate disability rating for her knees, particularly over the years prior to the assignment of the maximum schedular disability rating in May 2021, another remand is required.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for all non-VA medical care received for her knees, to include Tricare or military-provided care, as well as private-insurance care, from 2014 to the present.  Make two requests for the authorized records, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile.

2. After receiving these records, adjudicators should review their contents, with particular attention to the time period from 2015 to 2021, to identify all information pertaining to the Veteran's level of bilateral knee disability and functional restrictions.  If any further development is indicated, such development should be accomplished prior to further review of the appeal.  

 

 

L. BARSTOW

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Harter, Heather J.

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.