Citation Nr: 21076011 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 20-19 301 DATE: December 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for a right wrist scar is remanded. Entitlement to an initial increased rating for a right wrist disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from February 1996 to November 1999. This case comes on appeal of a November 2018 rating decision. The Veteran testified at a virtual tele-hearing before the Board in July 2021. A transcript of that hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for a right wrist scar is remanded. The Veteran was last examined for her service-connected right wrist scar in July 2018. At her July 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that the examination did not address the totality of symptoms stemming from the right wrist scar and that she experienced regular painful inflammation. While new VA examinations are not warranted based merely upon the passage of time [see Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174 (2007)], the Court has held that where a veteran claims that a disability is worse than when originally rated, and the available evidence is too old to adequately evaluate the current state of the condition, the VA must provide a new examination. See Olsen v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 480, 482 (1992) (citing Proscelle v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 629, 632 (1992)). In light of the Veteran's competent testimony suggestive of worsening symptoms and symptoms that were not addressed in the July 2018 examination, an updated scar examination should be scheduled on remand. 2. Entitlement to an initial increased rating for a right wrist disability is remanded. The Veteran filed a May 2018 claim for her right wrist condition secondary to in-service surgery due to injury. This was interpreted as both a claim for an increased rating for her right wrist scar, for which the Veteran had established service connection in May 2000, as well as a claim for service connection for a right wrist disability. In August 2018, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) issued a rating decision granting entitlement to service connection for a right wrist disability. Following additional development, the AOJ then issued a November 2018 rating decision continuing the noncompensable rating for the Veteran's right wrist scar. In April 2019, the Veteran submitted a notice of disagreement. In that notice of disagreement, the Veteran wrote that she disagreed with the evaluation of her right wrist. She explained that the pain in her right wrist was not limited to the scar, and that she continued to experience pain in the right wrist and thumb resulting from her in-service injury. In July 2019 written correspondence, the Veteran described her functional limitations due to her right wrist disability. In February 2020, the AOJ issued a statement of the case which addressed only the issue of an increased rating for the right wrist scar. In perfecting her appeal to the Board, the Veteran included a statement describing the pain in her right wrist and thumb. Then, in her July 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran confirmed that she was seeking an increased evaluation of the entirety of her right wrist symptoms, to include the described swelling of her entire right forearm from her thumb to her elbow. Based on this, it is apparent that the Veteran intended her April 2019 notice of disagreement to appeal both the propriety of the rating of her right wrist scar, as well as her right wrist disability. To date, the AOJ has not issued a statement of the case with regard to the evaluation of the right wrist disability. When there has been an initial AOJ adjudication of a claim and a notice of disagreement has been filed as to its denial, the Veteran is entitled to a statement of the case, and the AOJ's failure to issue a statement of the case is a procedural defect requiring remand. Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999). Accordingly, the Board must remand this issue so that the AOJ may issue a statement of the case. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination of the current severity of her right wrist scar. 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. All indicated tests should be performed, and the report of examination should include consideration of the Veteran's competent statements regarding pain and inflammation. 2. Furnish the Veteran with a statement of the case pertaining to the issue of entitlement to an increased initial rating for her right wrist disability. (Continued on Next Page) 3. Once the above development has been achieved, as well as any other development deemed necessary thereafter, readjudicate the appeal. If any benefits sought remain denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board. V. Chiappetta Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Giaquinto, 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.