Citation Nr: 21028240 Decision Date: 05/10/21 Archive Date: 05/10/21 DOCKET NO. 19-30 852 DATE: May 10, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle condition is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right foot condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1962 to May 1966. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2018 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran testified at an April 2021 virtual hearing before the Board; a transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. Remand is necessary to obtain additional VA medical center (VAMC) records. VAMC records, including records dated December 1987, July 1990, and August 1993, indicate that the Veteran received treatment at the a separate VAMC in Huntington, West Virginia. In the August statement of the case on appeal, the AOJ cited a reported 1988 fall from a loader as a potential cause of the Veteran's ankle condition. The Veteran testified about the reported 1988 fall at the April 2021 hearing. In a March 2016 claim for hearing loss and tinnitus, the Veteran indicated that the Huntington VAMC records date back to 1980. Remand is therefore necessary to obtain these missing VAMC records. Additionally, the Board notes the lay reports of a 55-gallon oil drum landing on the Veteran's right foot in 1963, resulting in a cast on his foot. The Veteran has also reported current right foot and ankle pain. Because the claims file does not contain sufficient medical evidence to decide the matters on appeal, the Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain a VA examination and medical opinion. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's treatment records from the Huntington, West Virginia VAMC for the period from 1980 to the present, as well as from any other VA facility identified by the Veteran or in the record. Requests must include archived records. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his right ankle and right foot conditions. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below. The examiner must determine whether any diagnosed right ankle and/or right foot disability is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by service, including the 1963 incident in which a 55-gallon oil drum fell on the Veteran's right foot and his foot was in a cast for six weeks. Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). 3. Then, readjudicate the claim. If the benefits sought remain denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case and return the matters to the Board, if otherwise in order. WILLIAM H. DONNELLY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board W. Ripplinger, 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.