Citation Nr: 21014160 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 15-11 508 DATE: March 11, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for a right hand scar, claimed as right hand injury is remanded. A rating higher than 10 percent for a left knee disability is remanded. A rating higher than 10 percent for a lumbar spine disability is remanded. A compensable rating for an upper brachial plexus injury is remanded. A compensable rating for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is remanded. A compensable rating for a fracture of the left orbital floor is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1976 to May 1979. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions dated in February 2013, December 2013, May 2015, and April 2017 of a Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office. In a February 2019 decision, the Board dismissed the issues of a total temporary evaluation for the left knee and an increased rating for a lumbar spine disability. In a subsequent decision dated in October 2019, the Board vacated its previous dismissal and remanded the two claims for further development, including the issuance of a statement of the case. Prior to the Board’s Vacatur, a temporary total evaluation for the left knee based on treatment necessitating convalescence was granted, resulting in a full grant of benefits sought by the Veteran previously. The Veteran properly appealed the issue of an increased rating for a lumbar spine disability and an increased rating subsequent to the temporary total evaluation to the Board in September 2020. The February 2019 Board decision also denied the claims for service connection for a right-hand injury, and increased ratings for TBI, left orbital floor fracture, and upper brachial plexus injury, as it was found that they had not been properly been appealed. The Veteran appealed the decision, and in a September 2020 Order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) vacated the decision and remanded the claim for action consistent with the Order and a Joint Motion for Partial Remand. In light of the fact that the decisions to dismiss and/or deny the claims on procedural bases have been vacated, the Board finds that remand is necessary to develop the record in order to properly adjudicate the appeals on a substantive basis. Specifically, updated records and VA examinations are needed. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate any pertinent VA or private medical records that are not already of record with the claims file. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any right-hand disability. The examiner must review the claims file and should note that review in the report. A complete history of onset and symptoms should be elicited from the Veteran. Any tests and studies deemed necessary should be conducted and all findings should be reported in detail. The examiner should opine, with rationale, as to whether it is at least as likely not (50 percent or greater probability) that any right hand disability had its onset in service or is otherwise related to service. 3. Schedule the Veteran for VA examinations to determine the current severity of a service-connected TBI, left orbital floor fracture, upper brachial plexus injury, lumbar spine and left knee disabilities. The examiner must review the claims file and should note that review in the report. All necessary tests should be performed, and the results reported. All pertinent symptomatology and findings must be reported in detail. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board H. Ahmad, 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.