Citation Nr: 21077267 Decision Date: 12/29/21 Archive Date: 12/29/21 DOCKET NO. 17-04 865 DATE: December 29, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. Entitlement to a temporary total evaluation for convalescence for surgery related to a right hip disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from February 1991 to June 1991, from January 1996 to October 2002, and from September 2004 to March 2009. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a March 2021 Board hearing. A transcript has been associated with the evidence of record. These matters were previously before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) in May 2021, and were remanded for further development, which has been completed. An August 2021 rating decision granted entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability and assigned a 100 percent temporary evaluation for convalescence for surgery related to a left hip disability. The issues of entitlement to a right hip disability and entitlement to a temporary total evaluation for convalescence for surgery related to a right hip disability remain before the Board. Regrettably, the Board finds it necessary to remand this matter for additional evidentiary development. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. The Veteran asserts that her right hip disability is causally related to her active service. The Veteran's service treatment records show that she was treated for bilateral hip pain in February 2006 and treated for joint pain, localized in the hip, in October 2008. In June 2021, an examiner noted the Veteran compensated and used her right hip due to her left hip pain. Furthermore, the Veteran stated she experiences right hip pain to due to compensating for her left hip pain. An addendum opinion was obtained in September 2021 addressing the issue of direct service connection for a right hip disability. In the addendum opinion, the examiner opined there is not enough evidence to support the contention that a right hip disability is related to active service. However, the Board cannot make a fully informed decision on the issue of service connection for a right hip disability because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran's right hip complaints are caused or aggravated by her service-connected left hip disability. 2. Entitlement to a temporary total evaluation for convalescence for surgery related to a right hip disability is remanded. As the claim for temporary total evaluation for convalescence for surgery related to a right hip disability is inextricably intertwined with the remanded claim of entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability, it is also remanded. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file any outstanding VA treatment records. Contact the Veteran and ask her to identify whether there are any outstanding VA or private medical records reflecting treatment for her claimed right hip disability. If such records are identified, then obtain those records and associate them with the electronic claims file. To expedite this action, the Veteran is encouraged to submit any additional VA or private medical records in her possession. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by to determine the nature and etiology of the claimed right hip disability. Following consideration of the evidence of record (both lay and medical), the examiner is asked to address the following: Determine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any right hip disability was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability, to include the left hip disability. Please explain why or why not. The examiner is cautioned that the term "aggravated," as used in 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (b), does not require that there be "permanent worsening" of the nonservice-connected disability. Instead, secondary service connection is warranted for "any incremental increase in disability and any additional impairment of earning capacity in nonservice-connected disabilities resulting from service-connected conditions, above the degree of disability existing before the increase regardless of its permanence." See Ward v. Wilkie, 31 Vet. App. 233, 239 (2019). All opinions expressed must be accompanied by a complete rationale. John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Laura Cochran, 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.