Citation Nr: 21006201 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 16-37 970 DATE: February 3, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee osteoarthritis is remanded. Entitlement to special monthly compensation for loss of use of a left knee is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from November 1977 to May 1978 and from September 1990 to September 1991. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a September 2014 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 1. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee osteoarthritis is remanded. 2. Entitlement to special monthly compensation for loss of use of a left knee is remanded. The Veteran’s claims were remanded in December 2018 for a new VA medical examination to obtain the information necessary as required by Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016). Upon review of the January 2020 VA examination report, the Board notes that the VA examiner indicated that the Veteran has objective evidence of pain in the left knee with passive range of motion testing as well as when the joint is used in non-weight bearing; however, the examination report did not specify whether measurements for the range of motion testing passive motion or non-weight-bearing, nor were they provided. As these measurements are necessary for the medical examination to be adequate for rating purposes, the Board finds that another remand is, unfortunately, required. Id.; Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007). As previously held, the Veteran’s special monthly compensation claim is inextricably intertwined with his claim for an increased rating for his left knee, and therefore the Board will defer deciding the issue pending the additional development requested herein. See December 2018 Board remand. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate with the Veteran’s claim file any outstanding VA treatment records since January 2018. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity level of his service-connected left knee. The examiner must test and provide measurements for the Veteran's range of motion with pain on active motion, passive motion, with weight-bearing, and non-weight-bearing. If the examiner is unable to conduct the required testing or concludes that the required testing is not necessary in this case, he or she should explain, with a supporting rationale, why that is so. See January 2020 VA examination (indicating objective pain with passive range of motion and non-weight-bearing). The examiner should describe any pain, weakened movement, excess fatigability, instability of station and incoordination present. (Continued on the next page)   The examiner should also state whether the examination is taking place during a period of flare-up. If not, the examiner should ask the Veteran to describe the flare-ups he experiences, including: frequency, duration, characteristics, precipitating and alleviating factors, severity and/or extent of functional impairment he experiences during a flare-up of symptoms and/or after repeated use over time. Based on the Veteran’s lay statements and the other evidence of record, the examiner should provide an opinion estimating any additional degrees of limited motion caused by functional loss during a flare-up or after repeated use over time. If the examiner cannot estimate the degrees of additional range of motion loss during flare-ups or after repetitive use without resorting to speculation, the examiner should state whether the need to speculate is caused by a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (i.e. no one could respond given medical science and the known facts) or by a deficiency in the record or the examiner (i.e. additional facts are required, or the examiner does not have the needed knowledge or training). K. J. ALIBRANDO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S.R. Fey, 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.