Citation Nr: 21042065
Decision Date: 07/11/21	Archive Date: 07/11/21

DOCKET NO. 08-97 456
DATE: July 11, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to initial compensable rating for left knee limitation of flexion is remanded.

Entitlement to initial compensable rating for a left knee scar is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 30 percent for left knee limitation of extension is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee instability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran, who served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from December 1964 to September 1968, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam with additional Reserve service, died in July 2018. The appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse.

The appellant has an active appeal regarding service connection for cause of death and dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 that is being adjudicated in the modernized appeals system and will be addressed in a separate decision. See October 2019 VA Form 10182.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a March 2018 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which denied increased ratings for left knee disabilities and service connection for glioblastoma. In April 2018, the appellant filed a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) appealing the March 2018 rating decision with respect to an increased rating for the left knee disabilities and service connection for glioblastoma. The issue of service connection for glioblastoma was recharacterized in a December 2018 rating decision as service connection for cause of death, which was then appealed in a December 2018 NOD, addressed in a September 2019 Statement of the Case (SOC), and appealed in the modernized system by an October 2019 VA Form 10182. To date, however, there has been no SOC issued by the RO addressing the left knee disabilities that was timely appealed in the April 2018 NOD, and the issue is not in the modernized appeals system; thus an SOC must be issued on remand. See Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999). 

This issue is REMANDED for the following action:

Provide the appellant with a SOC addressing the above-listed issues of entitlement to an increased evaluations for the Veteran's service-connected left knee disabilities, along with appellate rights. 

 

 

S. BUSH

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	D. deBruyn, 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.