Citation Nr: 21008202 Decision Date: 02/12/21 Archive Date: 02/12/21 DOCKET NO. 13-23 218 DATE: February 12, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial disability rating higher than 10 percent for right knee limitation of flexion is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1997 to October 2001. The matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2011 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a travel board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in June 2016. The hearing transcript is of record. In October 2019, the Board denied entitlement to an initial disability rating higher than 10 percent for right knee limitation of flexion effective July 5, 2010. The Veteran appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In September 2020, pursuant to a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), the Court vacated, in part, the Board’s October 2019 denial and remanded the matter to the Board for compliance with the instructions included in the parties’ JMPR. The case was returned to the Board for further appellate action. The JMPR only vacated this aspect of the Board’s decision. Entitlement to an initial disability rating higher than 10 percent for right knee limitation of flexion is remanded. The September 2020 Court decision found that the VA examinations of August 2013 and March 2017 do not comply with the examination requirements set out in Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). Furthermore, the VA examinations of October 2010, August 2013 and March 2017 do not comply with the examination requirements set out in Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016). Based on these findings, a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a new VA examination that complies with the requirements of the cases cited above. See Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303 (2007) (holding that once VA undertakes an examination, it must provide an adequate one). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain updated VA treatment records. 2. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with an appropriate medical professional to determine the current severity of loss of flexion in the right knee. The claims file and a copy of this remand must be available to and reviewed by the examiner. All necessary tests and studies should be accomplished. The examiner should also state whether the examination is taking place during a period of flare-up or after repeated use over a period of time. If not, the examiner should elicit information from the Veteran about the severity, frequency, duration, characteristics, precipitating and alleviating factors, and extent of functional impairment experienced both during a flare-up of his right knee symptoms and following 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. A complete rationale must be provided for any opinion offered. Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Minaya, 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.