Citation Nr: 21015311 Decision Date: 03/17/21 Archive Date: 03/17/21 DOCKET NO. 13-05 684 DATE: March 17, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disorder, to include as secondary to bilateral plantar callus formation, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include as secondary to bilateral plantar callus formation, is remanded. Entitlement to an evaluation higher than 10 percent for service-connected bilateral foot plantar callus formation, is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the U.S. Army from November 1972 to March 1973 and from June 1973 to January 1975. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in August 2016 and a transcript of the proceeding is of record. This matter was remanded by the Board in December 2016. An August 2018 Board decision denied the claim of entitlement to an increased evaluation for service-connected urticaria, and that issue no longer remains in appellate status. Also, during the pendency of the appeal, service connection was granted for left and right knee disorders from the date of the Veteran’s claim. See January 2020 and September 2020 rating decisions. The issues of entitlement to service connection for left and right knee disorders have been fully granted and no longer remain in appellate status. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F. 3d 1156, 1158 (Fed. Cir. 1997). The issue of entitlement to an evaluation higher than 10 percent for service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation was remanded in December 2016 for another VA examination to assess the current severity of the condition and to obtain VA treatment records. That development was accomplished by September 2018, however, the issue was not addressed in the September 2020 supplemental statement of the case. Review of the record does not indicate that the RO is undertaking any additional action regarding this claim in light of the passage of time since the completion of development in September 2018. The issue is remanded herein as discussed below. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disorder, to include as secondary to bilateral plantar callus formation is remanded. 4. Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include as secondary to bilateral plantar callus formation is remanded. These issues are remanded to obtain an addendum opinion on the etiology of the claimed ankle and hip disorders that addresses lay testimony of chronic symptoms since service. When a Veteran has provided competent lay statements of an in-service injury, the examiner must consider and address them when developing his rationale. See Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23, 39-40 (2007) (holding that when the Veteran has provided lay testimony of an in-service injury, an examiner cannot ignore that lay evidence and base his or her opinion that there is no relationship to service on the absence of in-service corroborating medical records). VA obtained examinations and opinions on these claims in September 2018. The examiner opined that bilateral ankle and hip disorders were not related to the Veteran’s period of service. In support of that opinion, the examiner cited to the lack of evidence of treatment for an ankle or hip condition in the service treatment records (STRs). In this case, the Veteran’s STRs are incomplete and the examiner failed to address lay testimony of chronic symptoms since an in-service onset. See November 2011 VA memorandum of unavailability. Thus, remand for an adequate addendum is required. Also, the Veteran claims that the bilateral ankle and hip disorders are caused or aggravated by the service-connected bilateral plantar callus formation because the service-connected disability affects his gait. See August 2016 hearing testimony. On remand, VA should obtain an opinion that addresses the secondary service connection theory of entitlement. 5. Entitlement to an evaluation higher than 10 percent for service-connected bilateral foot plantar callus formation is remanded. This issue is remanded for issuance of a supplemental statement of the case. New evidence, including relevant VA treatment records through 2017 and a September 2018 examination report, was received after the issuance of a January 2013 statement of the case. The most recent September 2020 supplemental statement of the case did not address the issue of entitlement to an increased evaluation for bilateral foot plantar callus formation or the new evidence relevant to that issue. The new evidence was received prior to the transfer of the appeal to the Board, therefore remand for RO consideration of the new evidence is appropriate. 6. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) is remanded. The claim of entitlement to a TDIU is inextricably intertwined with other pending claims on appeal. The appropriate remedy where a pending claim is inextricably intertwined with a claim currently on appeal is to remand the claim on appeal pending the adjudication of the inextricably intertwined claim. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). Last, remand is required to obtain all outstanding VA treatment records from December 2017 onward. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the appropriate VA Medical Center and obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding records of treatment from 2017 onward. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his representative. 2. After any additional records are associated with the claims file, obtain an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the claimed bilateral ankle and hip disorders from a VA examiner. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. If an examination is deemed necessary, it shall be provided. An explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided. (a.) The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that a bilateral ankle or bilateral hip disorder had onset in, or is otherwise related to, active service. (b.) The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that a bilateral ankle or bilateral hip disorder is caused or aggravated by the service-connected bilateral plantar callus formations. (c.) The examiner must specifically address the following: 1) the lay testimony of chronic symptoms since service and an allegation of a 1974 injury to the hips and ankles when the Veteran ran into a car door; 2) the August 2016 hearing testimony that the hip and ankle disorders are aggravated by the altered gait resulting from the service-connected callus formations; and 3) the September 2018 VA examination reports. The examiner should also know that the Veteran’s STRs are incomplete due to no fault of the Veteran’s. 3. Ensure readjudication and issuance of a supplemental statement of the case on the issue of entitlement to an increased evaluation for bilateral plantar callus formations that considers all relevant evidence received since the 2013 statement of the case, to include the newly received VA treatment records and September 2018 examination report. K. MILLIKAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Smith, 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.