Citation Nr: 21025960 Decision Date: 04/29/21 Archive Date: 04/29/21 DOCKET NO. 14-24 798A DATE: April 29, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for left tibia stress fracture is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from February 1970 to May 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a July 2011 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This appeal has been advanced on the Board’s docket on account of advanced age. 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). 1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for left tibia stress fracture is remanded. By way of background, the Veteran’s left tibia stress fracture has been rated as service-connected but rating as noncompensable since September 30, 1980. It is currently rated as analogous to impairment of the tibia. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a; Diagnostic Code 5299-5262; Rating Decision (Codesheet) (Aug. 9, 2018). The Veteran’s claim for an increased rating was received by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) on February 9, 2011. The claims were previously remanded by the Board on September 6, 2016 and on June 6, 2018. In March 2019, the Veteran missed a scheduled VA examination; as a result, the Veteran’s claim was denied on May 13, 2019. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.655(b). The Veteran then appealed this March 2019 Board decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). The Court found that the Board did not properly address whether the Veteran had shown good cause for his failure to appear for a previous scheduled VA examination. See Memorandum Decision ( July 31, 2020 ). In addition, the Veteran’s current attorney requested that the Board remand the instant matter for additional examination in an April 2020 submission. Meanwhile, the Board notes that during the pendency of the Veteran’s appeal, 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a underwent revisions that may potentially impact the Veteran’s rating. Therefore, the Veteran’s claim for a compensable rating for his left tibia stress fracture should be remanded to obtain medical opinions as follows. In the matter of this disability, the examiner is asked to review the Veteran’s claims file and provide responses to questions outlined below. If the examiner determines that he or she cannot provide the opinion without an in-person examination of the Veteran, the examiner should provide an explanation as to why that is the case. In such cases, appropriate attempts should be made to schedule the Veteran for an examination. In this regard, however, the Veteran is reminded that examination results are dependent in large part on his own cooperation. See Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991) (“The duty to assist is not always a one-way street.”). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The Veteran should be given the opportunity to identify any outstanding private or VA treatment records relevant to the claim on appeal. After obtaining any necessary authorization from the Veteran, all outstanding records should be obtained, to include updated VA treatment records. For private treatment records, make at least two (2) attempts to obtain records from any identified sources. If any such records are unavailable, inform the Veteran and his representative and afford him an opportunity to submit any copies in their possession. For federal records, all reasonable attempts should be made to obtain such records. If any records cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts have been made, issue a formal determination that such records do not exist or that further efforts to obtain such records would be futile, which should be documented in the claims file. The Veteran must be notified of the attempts made and why further attempts would be futile, and allowed the opportunity to provide such records, as provided in 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(b)(2) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 2. Following the receipt of outstanding records, afford the Veteran an appropriate VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his left knee stress fracture. The record, to include a complete copy of this remand, must be made available to the examiner. All indicated tests and studies should be accomplished, with all findings made available to the requesting examiner prior to the completion of his or her report, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. The examiner should identify the current nature and severity of all manifestations of the Veteran's left knee stress fracture. The examiner should comment upon the functional impairment resulting from the Veteran's left knee stress fracture. A rationale for any opinion offered should be provided. 3. The Veteran is informed that it is his responsibility to report for any scheduled examinations and to cooperate in the development of the claim and that the consequences for failure to report for any VA examination without good cause may include denial of a claim. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.158, 3.655. In the event that the Veteran does not report for any scheduled examination, documentation showing that he was properly notified of the examination must be associated with the record. KRISTY L. ZADORA Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Michael B. Engle, 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.