Citation Nr: 21014406
Decision Date: 03/12/21	Archive Date: 03/12/21

DOCKET NO. 10-07 592
DATE: March 12, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a right knee condition is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from February 1982 to July 2006.

This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a February 2009 rating decision of the Roanoke, Virginia, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In a January 2020 decision, the Board denied the issue on appeal.  The Veteran appealed the Board decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court).  In a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), dated in October 2020, the Court vacated the Board’s decision and remanded the claim to the Board for compliance with the terms of the JMR.

In the JMR, the Court noted that the Board did not address the Veteran’s training as a combat medic, in terms of his competency.  The Court noted that the Veteran was, at the least, competent to report continuous medical pain since service.  The Court indicated that the Board should discuss whether the Veteran’s training, as a combat medic, in conjunction his lay testimony describing symptoms since service, supported a later diagnosis by a medical professional.  It was noted that the Veteran’s DD Form 214’s indicated the Veteran’s military occupational specialties as medical field service technician and command master chief.  

The Court also noted that a remand was warranted because the August 2019 VA examiner did not “comment as to what significance, if any, could be attached to the Veteran’s lay contentions”, beyond alluding to “temporal relationships.” Specifically, the Court indicated that the VA examiner did not clearly comment on the lay statements by the Veteran found in a June 2006 Report of Medical History, an October 2006 correspondence and in his August 2009 notice of disagreement.  Therefore, to comply with the JMR, a new examination and opinion are needed.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the Veteran for a VA knee examination by an appropriate professional to determine the nature and etiology of any right knee disability.  The examiner should review the entire claims file.  All necessary tests and studies should be conducted.  (The Board recognizes the practical difficulties of scheduling an examination in view of the COVID-19 epidemic, and requests flexibility and understanding in affording the Veteran an opportunity to report for an examination.)

The examiner must opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed right knee disability had its onset during, or are otherwise related to, the Veteran’s active duty service.

In rendering an opinion, the examiner is required to consider and discuss what significance, if any, could be attached to the Veteran’s lay contentions found specifically in a June 2006 Report of Medical History, an October 2006 correspondence and in the Veteran’s August 2009 notice of disagreement.  The examiner is advised that the Veteran had training as a combat medic.

A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions expressed and conclusions reached.

 

 

A. C. MACKENZIE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A-L Evans, 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.