Citation Nr: 21077262 Decision Date: 12/29/21 Archive Date: 12/29/21 DOCKET NO. 14-04 276 DATE: December 29, 2021 REMANDED From December 1, 2018, a rating in excess of 30 percent for a right knee disability status post replacement is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from April 1991 to March 1995. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2011 rating decision of an Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In February 2017, the Veteran and his wife testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned. In February 2018, the Board dismissed certain issues on appeal and remanded the remaining issues for additional development. Moreover, the Board explained that the Veteran had separately appealed the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and that it was permissive for the Board to separately process this issue. The Veteran has separately perfected an appeal as to entitlement to a TDIU, along with additional service-connection issues, and requested a Board hearing. Thus, this issue is not before the Board. In May 2020, the Board granted an increased rating for a right knee disability prior to August 10, 2016. The Board also remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea and entitlement to an increased rating for a right knee disability from November 1, 2016 to October 16, 2017, and prospectively from December 1, 2018. The AOJ subsequently granted service connection for sleep apnea and that issue is no longer before the Board. In April 2021, the Board adjudicated the appeal as to the rating for a right knee disability from November 1, 2016 to October 16, 2017. The Board remanded the issue of entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for a right knee disability prospectively from December 1, 2018. Separately, the Veteran appealed an April 2017 rating decision that granted a temporary total rating for a right knee disability from August 10, 2016 to November 1, 2016. In April 2020, the Board remanded that matter for additional development. In December 2020, the Board denied entitlement to a temporary total rating for convalescence beyond October 31, 2016, to include whether a TDIU is warranted for this period. The Board regrets the delay, but remand is necessary to secure updated records and an updated examination. In this regard, private treatment records show that in September 2021, the Veteran reported onset of right knee pain and was directed to follow up in two months if still symptomatic. See September 7, 2021 Private Treatment Record. On remand, updated relevant private treatment records should be secured, if any, and the Veteran should then be scheduled for an examination. See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). Any updated VA treatment records should also be secured. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Secure updated VA treatment records, if any. 2. With any necessary assistance from the Veteran, secure outstanding relevant private treatment records, to include any updated records from Piedmont Healthcare showing treatment for a right knee disability. 3. Then schedule the Veteran for an examination as to the severity of his right knee disability. The examiner should review the Veteran's claims file. All findings should be reported in detail. The examiner should assess the severity of the Veteran's right knee disability status post total replacement. The examiner should state whether the Veteran's right knee disability is manifested by "chronic residuals of severe painful motion or weakness in the extremity" and provide a rationale for this opinion. A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions. If a requested opinion cannot be provided without resorting to speculation, the examiner should so state and explain why an opinion would be speculative. S. BUSH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board D.M. Badaczewski, 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.