Citation Nr: 21022348 Decision Date: 04/15/21 Archive Date: 04/15/21 DOCKET NO. 17-59 000A DATE: April 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for hypersomnolence disorder (claimed as insomnia) is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee pain is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral shin splints is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably in the Navy from July 2009 to August 2014. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an initial January 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Baltimore, Maryland. In July 2020, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ); a transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for hypersomnolence disorder (claimed as insomnia) is remanded. The Veteran contends that service connection is warranted for a hypersomnolence disorder. After review of lay and medical evidence and finding no medical nexus opinion of record; a remand is necessary to ensure the Board has an adequate record to decide the claim. There was a Mental Disorders Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) done just two months after separation from active Naval service in October 2014 that diagnosed hypersomnolence disorder, persistent, and severe conforming to DSM-5 criteria. The examiner also heard the Veteran’s lay statement that says he began experiencing daytime fatigue in 2010, while on active service. The Veteran denied difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep at night. He described falling asleep two or three times a day the past few weeks before the DBQ. When he was working, the Veteran said he was falling asleep once or twice a day. The examiner did not offer a nexus opinion as part of the DBQ connecting the Veteran’s claimed in-service incurrence and his current disability. Accordingly, a VA opinion is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the currently diagnosed hypersomnolence disorder. 2. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee pain is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral shin splints is remanded. The Veteran contends he is entitled to service connection for bilateral knee and bilateral shin splint conditions. At his October 2014 Separation Health Assessment DBQ, the Veteran reported both bilateral knee and bilateral shin splint conditions. On examination the reviewer found no symptoms for either condition at the time of the separation exam. Finding no current symptoms, the examiner concluded the conditions had resolved themselves. The Veteran at the July 2020 Board hearing said that he had not worked since leaving Naval service months before the actual separation examination. His shins and knees had time to recuperate prior to the examination, but when he started working again as a barber, which requires long hours of standing, the symptoms returned. Additionally, the Veteran suspects the 2014 VA examiners did not have access to his entire service treatment records, because some were not added to his claims file until several months after the above-mentioned examination reports were completed. To afford the Veteran every opportunity, considering this evidence, the Board is remanding bilateral knee and bilateral shin splint conditions for new VA examinations and nexus opinions. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The entire claims folder should be made available and reviewed by a suitably qualified examiner to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s claimed hypersomnolence disorder. A physical examination does not need to be scheduled unless the examiner deems one is necessary. The examiner should consider all medical records associated with the file. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran’s current hypersomnolence disability was caused by the Veteran’s active naval service. A complete rationale for all opinions is required. 2. The entire claims folder should be made available and reviewed by a suitably qualified examiner to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s claimed bilateral knee and bilateral shin splint disorders. A physical examination does not need to be scheduled unless the examiner deems one is necessary. The examiner should consider all medical records associated with the file. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that: (a.) The Veteran’s bilateral knee condition was caused by the Veteran’s active naval service. (b.) The Veteran’s bilateral shin splint condition was caused by the Veteran’s active naval service. A complete rationale for all opinions is required. H. SEESEL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Black, 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.