Citation Nr: 21020763 Decision Date: 04/08/21 Archive Date: 04/08/21 DOCKET NO. 17-14 396 DATE: April 8, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for left knee condition is remanded. Service connection for lower back condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty in the Marine Corps from August 1979 to August 1982. In December 2019, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) denied entitlement to service connection for left knee condition and entitlement to service connection for lower back condition. The Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In October 2020, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) and vacated the December 2019 decision to the extent that it denied entitlement to service connection for left knee condition and entitlement to service connection for lower back condition, and remanded those issues to the Board for additional action. 1. Service connection for left knee condition is remanded. 2. Service connection for lower back condition is remanded. The Veteran contends that his left knee and lower back condition are the result of his active duty. Specifically, he contends that while climbing Mt. Fuji in the early 1980’s, he fell and injured his left knee and low back. In the October 2020 JMR, the parties agreed that the Board erred when it found that VA examinations were not warranted for the Veteran’s claims, despite unsuccessful attempts to locate his missing service treatment records. The Board notes that the record reflects a memorandum of record from Marine Corps Records Branch and response from National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) indicating that the Veteran’s service treatment records are missing and that all available records have been provided. Only the Veteran’s August 1979 entrance examination has been found and associated with his claims file. Given the missing service treatment records, VA has a heightened duty to assist the Veteran in developing his claim. O’Hare v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 365 (1991). This heightened duty includes providing a medical examination if review of the evidence determines that such examination is necessary to decide the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4). Recognizing the Court’s directives from the October 2020 JMR and the Veteran’s lay statements, the Board finds that the Veteran should be afforded an examination in connection with these claims. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for VA examinations to assess the nature and etiology of his left knee condition and lower back condition. The examiner must review the claims file, including this REMAND and the October 2020 JMR, and should indicate such review in the reports. The examiner is asked to opine whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e. 50 percent or greater) that any diagnosed left knee condition and/or lower back condition is etiologically related to active duty, to include falling while climbing Mt. Fuji. Sufficient rationale should be given for all opinions proffered. 2. Readjudicate the appeals. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Lee 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.