Citation Nr: 21031120 Decision Date: 05/20/21 Archive Date: 05/20/21 DOCKET NO. 18-12 229 DATE: May 20, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right lower extremity disability, to include residuals of ruptured right achilles tendon, is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hand scars is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service to include the periods from September 1985 to January 1986, from May 1989 to September 1994, from January 2001 to August 2001, from July 2002 to July 2003, from February 2006 to June 2007, and from February 2011 to October 2011. He also had service in the Reserves until he retired in January 2015. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) from a September 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In January 2020, the Board denied the claims. The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Pursuant to a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), in December 2020 the Court vacated the Board's decision that denied the for entitlement to service connection for residuals of ruptured right achilles tendon, and the claim for an increased rating for bilateral hand scars, and remanded the issues to the Board for appropriate action in accordance with the JMR. The Board has broadened and recharacterized the claim for service connection for right lower extremity disability, to include residuals of ruptured right achilles tendon, to ensure that the Veteran is afforded every consideration. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right lower extremity disability, to include residuals of ruptured right achilles tendon, is remanded. 2. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hand scars is remanded. Initially, the Board notes that pursuant to the December 2020 JMR, remand is necessary to obtain VA treatment records from February 2015 to the present. Specifically, the parties referenced a September 2017 Deferred Rating Decision that identified outstanding VA treatment records from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center dated from 2014, which had yet to be associated with the claims file. As evidence of record only includes treatment records dated up to February 2015 from that facility, all pertinent VA treatment records should be obtained and properly associated with the record. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(c); see also Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992) (finding that VA medical records are in constructive possession of the agency, and must be obtained if the material could be determinative of the claim). Additionally, the Board notes that in February 2021, the Veteran submitted what he described as a report of examination performed by a physical therapist in December 2020, to evaluate the Veteran's claimed hands and right leg disabilities. The report is in German and requires translation. As the case is being remanded for additional development, translation of that document, as well as any additional documents that require translation from German to English, should also be completed. The Board requires that documents in the claims file not written in English or previously translated into English be translated at the RO prior to adjudication. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request the Veteran to identify all medical providers (VA and private) from whom he has received treatment for hands and right lower extremity disorders, and complete and return an appropriate authorization form for each treatment provider identified (if any). After obtaining the completed release forms, request all identified pertinent medical records (if any). If possible, the Veteran should get these records and submit them himself to expedite the case (if any). 2. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records, to specifically include medical treatment from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, from February 2015 to the present. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file. If the records are unavailable, notify the Veteran in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. 3. Obtain English language translations of all documents in the claims file that are in German, to include the examination report performed by a physical therapist received in February 2021. All English translations must be associated with their respective German originals in the claims file. 4. After completing the above, and any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the preceding paragraphs (to include consideration of whether additional VA examinations are warranted), the issues on appeal should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. If the benefits sought are not granted to the Veteran's satisfaction, return the case to the Board for further appellate review. John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Azizi, T. 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.