Citation Nr: 21032343
Decision Date: 05/26/21	Archive Date: 05/26/21

DOCKET NO. 13-18 207
DATE: May 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1973 to March 1995.

In December 2019, the Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee DJD. In response the Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In a November 2020 Order, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand which vacated the December 2019 Board decision and remanded the matter for readjudication consistent with the motion. 

The Joint Motion stated that vacatur and remand were needed because the January 2018 and May 2019 VA examinations did not comply with the Board's January 2017 remand order. The Veteran was subsequently afforded a VA examination in December 2020. However, the examination report similarly fails to comply with the January 2017 Board remand directives to have the examiner report the Veteran's right knee range of motion in passive motion, active motion, and in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing. Remand is therefore needed to afford the Veteran a new VA examination that complies with the January 2017 Board remand directives. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA knee examination to determine the severity of his service-connected right knee disability. The examiner must review pertinent documents in the Veteran's electronic claims file in conjunction with the examination. All indicated studies should be conducted, and all findings reported in detail. The examiner must:

(a.) Report the Veteran ranges of motion of the right knee in degrees, in passive motion, active motion, and in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing. 

If the examiner is unable to conduct the required testing or concludes that the required testing is not necessary in this case, he or she must clearly explain why that is so. 

(b.) Determine the extent the right knee disability is manifested by weakened movement, excess fatigability, incoordination, or pain due to flare-ups. This determination should be made in terms of the degree of additional range-of-motion loss. The examiner must ask the Veteran if he has current flare-ups. 

(c.) Indicate whether there is any ankylosis, and, if so, whether it is favorable or unfavorable and the angle at which the knee is held. 

(d.) Further, the examiner should indicate whether there is any lateral instability and/or recurrent subluxation. If instability is present, the examiner should, based on the examination results and the Veteran's documented medical history and assertions, assess whether such instability is slight, moderate, or severe. 

All examination findings/testing results, along with complete, clearly stated rationale for the conclusions reached, must be provided. 

2. To help avoid future remand, the AOJ must ensure that all requested actions have been accomplished in compliance with this remand. If any action is not undertaken, or is taken in a deficient manner, appropriate corrective action should be taken. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 

 

J. Komperda

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S.E. Bresler, 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.