Citation Nr: 21027243 Decision Date: 05/05/21 Archive Date: 05/05/21 DOCKET NO. 13-18 735 DATE: May 5, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right leg disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1972 to September 1974. In June 2017, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned. In November 2017 and February 2020, the Board remanded this matter for further development. Entitlement to service connection for a right leg disability is remanded. In February 2020, the Board remanded this matter, in part, to afford the Veteran a new VA examination regarding his claim for a right leg disability. In this regard, the examiner was directed to specifically address the Veteran's lay statements, as well as the medical evidence of record, regarding the Veteran's symptoms since service. The Veteran was afforded a VA peripheral nerves examination in August 2020 in which the examiner stated that (1) there was a gap of about 39 years between the Veteran's initial in-service injury to his right knee and the recurrence of neuropathy in his right lower extremity, and (2) there is no evidence of chronicity of care. The August 2020 VA examiner did not address any of the Veteran's lay statements or the medical evidence of record regarding the Veteran's symptomatology since service. Accordingly, remand for a new VA opinion is necessary to ensure compliance with the Board's prior remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The August 2020 VA examination reflects that, since its onset, the Veteran's right knee arthritis worsened in terms of numbness and peripheral neuropathy of the right leg. Thus, because there is an indication that the Veteran's right leg disability may be caused and/or aggravated by the Veteran's now service-connected right knee disability, remand for a secondary service connection opinion is warranted. This matter is REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an opinion regarding the etiology of any right leg disability found during the period on appeal. If the clinician determines that an examination is necessary to respond to this request, such examination should be scheduled. After review of the claims file, and examination of the Veteran if deemed necessary, the clinician should identify all right leg disabilities found during the period on appeal. For each right leg disability identified during the period on appeal, the clinician should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the disability began in or is otherwise caused by the Veteran's active service. The examiner should also opine whether it is at least as likely as not that any right leg disability found during the appeal period was (a) caused by; or (b) aggravated (i.e., worsened beyond the normal progression of the disease) by the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability. Please note, causation and aggravation are separate concepts and must be addressed independently. The VA examiner must address the Veteran's lay statements and the medical evidence of record regarding the Veteran's symptomatology since service. The examiner may not dismiss the Veteran's report of symptoms capable of lay observation solely on the basis that such complaints were not corroborated by contemporaneous treatment records. If the examiner rejects the Veteran's reports of symptoms, he or she must provide a reason for doing so. All findings must be reported in detail and all opinions must be accompanied by a clear rationale. If any of the above issues cannot be resolved without resorting to speculation, then a detailed medical explanation as to why this is so must be provided. M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Elias, 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.