Citation Nr: 21028620
Decision Date: 05/11/21	Archive Date: 05/11/21

DOCKET NO. 15-45 829
DATE: May 11, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service from September 1979 to September 2005.  In July 2018, the Veteran testified at a Travel Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  In July 2018 and July 2020, the Board remanded this matter for further development.  

1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis is remanded.

In the July 2020 remand, the Board requested that the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) readjudicate the claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, in conjunction with the pending claim for service connection for a right knee meniscal tear.  In a subsequent letter, also dated in July 2020, the AOJ notified the Veteran that they had received his VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Compensation, but they were already processing a pending appeal for right knee meniscal tear.  Review of the record does not show a copy of the VA Form 21-526EZ.  Rather, the record shows that thereafter, in September 2020, the AOJ issued a supplemental statement of the case regarding the claim for a higher rating for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, noting that the appeal was remanded for "review of the examinations completed in conjunction with the right knee claim".  There is no indication in the record, however, that the AOJ has yet addressed the claim for entitlement to service connection for a right knee meniscal tear.  

Although further delay is regrettable, a remand is warranted in order to clarify the status of the presumably still pending claim for service connection for a right knee meniscal tear, and to adjudicate the claim for a higher rating for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, in conjunction with the right knee meniscal tear claim.

The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:

1. Clarify the status of the pending claim for service connection for a right knee meniscal tear, and ensure that all documents pertaining to this claim are associated with the record, to include the VA Form 21-526EZ filed by the Veteran in July 2020.

2. Readjudicate the claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia patella with degenerative arthritis, in conjunction with the pending claim for service connection for a right knee meniscal tear.

 

 

A. ISHIZAWAR

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. Casula

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.