Citation Nr: 21007920 Decision Date: 02/11/21 Archive Date: 02/11/21 DOCKET NO. 16-34 570 DATE: February 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left lower extremity condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1972 to April 1975. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2019, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a hearing. A copy of the transcript is associated with the Veteran’s claims file. The Board denied the claim for service connection for a left lower leg condition in an August 2019 decision. The Veteran then appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a September 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Court partially vacated the Board’s decision regarding this issue and remanded it for further action consistent with the terms of the JMPR. Entitlement to service connection for a left lower extremity condition is remanded. The Veteran contends that his left lower extremity condition began during boot camp training at Parris Island. See Hearing Transcript, pages 3 and 8. He avers that he was seen at sick call twice and was also x-rayed twice at Parris Island for complaints of weakness on his left side. See Hearing Transcript, page 3. Moreover, he avers that his left leg weakness continued after service and was accompanied by pain as he aged. See April 2014 correspondence. The Board has recharacterized this claim based on the terms of the JMPR that requested the Board to address diagnoses of left lower leg pain and lumbar radiculopathy. See Brokowski v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 79 (2009). The Veteran’s service treatment records are negative for any left lower extremity complaints, treatments, or diagnoses. However, as the Board previously indicated the Veteran’s military service records show he was stationed at Parris Island for training. His report of running and jumping during training is generally consistent with the place, types, and circumstances of his service. The post-service evidence of record shows the Veteran has a diagnosis of lumbar radiculopathy as of January 2013. See October 2014 private treatment records. In August 2020, an X-ray report indicated he has also mild arthritis in the left knee. In addition, in May 2019, the Board received a letter from Dr. C.F. stating that the Veteran has been under his long-term care for multiple conditions, including osteoarthritis of multiple joints, and left knee pain with weak gait. While he found that the Veteran’s conditions “have a high likelihood of being service connected due to [his] prior military service,” a rationale was not provided. The Board has also considered the brief submitted by the Veteran’s representative. In light of the letter from Dr. C.F., and the brief, the Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on this issue yet. An examination for the claimed condition is needed as the criteria set forth in McClendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006) have been met. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for Dr. C.F. of Cascade Internal Medicine and any other provider/facility that has treated his claimed left lower extremity condition(s). Make two requests for the authorized records unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of his left lower extremity condition(s). The claims folder and a copy of this Remand must be made available and reviewed by the appropriate examiner. The examiner must opine whether any current left lower extremity condition (to include but not limited to, lumbar radiculopathy) is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The examiner must opine whether any current left lower extremity arthritis manifested to a compensable degree within one year of service; or was noted during service with continuity of the same symptomatology since service. A fully-explained rationale for the requested opinions should be provided. In providing the requested opinions and rationale, consider the Veteran’s description of his in-service injury and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms. In this regard, the examiner is advised that the Veteran asserts he began experiencing weakness with his left leg during training at Parris Island and that the weakness continued after service and was accompanied by pain as he aged. The examiner is also advised that in a May 2019 letter, Dr. C.F. expressed a relationship between the Veteran’s current condition and his military service but a rationale was not provided. 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 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? D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Tang, 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.