Citation Nr: 21076113 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 18-13 171 DATE: December 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a low back condition is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from June 11, 1979 to June 9, 1983. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Houston, Texas. In September 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back condition is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is remanded. The Veteran contends that he injured his lower back and both knees after falling in an incident that occurred aboard the U.S.S. Midway in 1980. At the September 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he fell down some stairs in the engine room and then had to run back up the stairs after a commercial ship collided with the U.S.S. Midway. The Veteran testified about 4 to 5 hours later, his knees and back started hurting, but the Veteran self-treated with over-the-counter medications. Service connection may be established for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131. Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d). Establishing service connection generally requires evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury, and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination with respect to his claims for service connection for his lower back and bilateral knee disabilities. VA will provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion if the evidence indicates the existence of a current disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability that may be associated with an event, injury, or disease in service, but the record does not contain sufficient medical evidence to decide the claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(4)(i); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The Veteran's VA medical records indicate that he has reported chronic lower back pain as well as a diagnosis of bilateral knee osteoarthritis. In an August 2021 memorandum, the VA acknowledged that the incident involving the U.S.S. Midway occurred, and that the Veteran was stationed aboard the ship at that time. Thus, the Board finds that VA medical examinations are warranted to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's lower back and bilateral knee disabilities. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain updated treatment records for the Veteran. 2. Schedule the Veteran for VA examinations for his lower back and bilateral knee disabilities. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's conditions manifest in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinions below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Is the Veteran's low back disability at least as likely as not related to service, including the claimed injury that occurred aboard the U.S.S. Midway in 1980? Is a left knee disability at least as likely as not related to service, including the claimed injury that occurred aboard the U.S.S. Midway in 1980? Is a right knee disability at least as likely as not related to service, including the claimed injury that occurred aboard the U.S.S. Midway in 1980? In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of his in-service injury and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his/her current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M.D. Taylor, 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.