Citation Nr: 21041868 Decision Date: 07/10/21 Archive Date: 07/10/21 DOCKET NO. 15-26 265 DATE: July 10, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for left knee disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right knee disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for low back disorder, including as secondary to service-connected disabilities, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for left foot disorder, including as secondary to service-connected disabilities, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right foot disorder, including as secondary to service-connected disabilities, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty for training in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from June 1981 to November 1981. Service personnel records reveal he served on extended active duty for training (ACDUTRA) from December 10 to December 31, 1984, and from January 4 to February 28, 1985. Moreover, he served on periods of annual duty for training (ADT) with the Marine Corps. From January 1990 to January 1993, he also served with the United States Navy Reserve. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran testified at a September 2019 videoconference hearing before the Board; a transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. These matters were previously before the Board in December 2019. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee disorders is remanded. An additional VA medical opinion is required on remand for the Veteran's bilateral knee disorder claims. A February 2020 VA medical opinion stated that the Veteran's current knee conditions were "not related to" his "complaints of leg cramping and lower tibial pain with running" but did not provide a rationale for the lack of a relationship. Additionally, a January 2021 VA medical opinion determined that the "R[ight] lower Tib[ia] fib[ula] pain" referenced in a July 1981 service treatment record (STR) (classified by the VA medical opinion as shin splints) "[did] not cause knee joint issues as the problem is not in a joint." This rationale is insufficient because it does not explain why shin splints would not affect joints. An additional VA medical opinion is therefore required. 2. Entitlement to service connection for low back disorder, to include as secondary to service-connected disabilities, is remanded. An additional VA medical opinion is required on remand for the Veteran's low back disorder claim. The February 2020 VA medical opinion determined that a sneeze ten years earlier (and the Veteran's "immediate problems" thereafter) made it less likely than not that his low back disorders were related to service. The VA medical opinion did not explain the evidence it had relied on to make this determination, however. Accordingly, the matter is remanded. 3. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral feet disorders, to include as secondary to service-connected disabilities, is remanded. An additional VA medical opinion is required on remand for the Veteran's bilateral feet disorder claims. The January 2021 VA medical opinion determined that the "R[ight] lower Tib[ia] fib[ula] pain" referenced in the July 1981 STR "are a lower leg problem and do not impact feet." The VA medical opinion did not explain the evidence it had relied on to make this determination, however. Thus, an additional VA medical opinion is required. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's right and left knee disorders are at least as likely as not related to injury during inactive service, to include the July 1981 STR that referenced right tibia and fibula pain as well as a March 1990 Report of Medical History in which the Veteran reported "cramps in leg - when overdoing running." 2. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's low back disorders are at least as likely as not related to injury during inactive service. 3. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's right and left foot disorders are at least as likely as not related to injury during inactive service, to include the July 1981 STR that referenced right tibia and fibula pain as well as a March 1990 Report of Medical History in which the Veteran reported "cramps in leg - when overdoing running." 4. If service connection is granted for one or both of the knee disorder claims, obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's low back disorder, left foot disorder, and right foot disorder are each at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated beyond its natural progression by the knee disorder(s). 5. Then, readjudicate the claim. If any benefit sought remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case and return the matter 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.