Citation Nr: 22014937 Decision Date: 03/15/22 Archive Date: 03/15/22 DOCKET NO. 15-29 038 DATE: March 15, 2022 REMANDED A rating higher than 10 percent for residuals of right wrist fracture is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1973 to March 1974. The Veteran testified at a Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in October 2018. A transcript of the proceeding is of record. The law requires that the VLJ who conducts a hearing on an appeal must participate in any decision made on that appeal. 38U.S.C. §7107 (c); 38C.F.R. §20.707. However, the VLJ who conducted the October 2018Board hearing is no longer employed by the Board. In November 2020, the Veteran and his representative were sent a letter notifying them that the VLJ who presided over the October 2018 hearing is no longer employed by the Board and offering another hearing before a different VLJ. The letter notified the Veteran that he had 30 days from the date of letter to respond and that if no response was received the Board will assume the Veteran does not want another hearing and the Board will proceed accordingly. The Veteran's representative responded that the Veteran did not want another hearing. The Board notes that a September 2021 Rating Decision granted service connection for disabilities of the Veteran's right hand fingers associated with his right wrist disability. The Veteran appealed the effective date assigned to these separate ratings in a February 2022 Form 10182. That claim is being adjudicated under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) framework and has been assigned a docket number under Direct Review. As such, the effective date of the service connection for the Veteran's right hand fingers is not at issue in the appeal stream for the Veteran's right wrist rating and will be adjudicated separately. Right Wrist Fracture Residuals The Veteran's right wrist fracture is assigned a 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Code (DC) 5215. The Veteran's 10 percent rating is the maximum rating allowed by that DC; higher ratings are available for disabilities of the wrist only if ankylosis is shown. In the Veteran's most recent VA examination in January 2022, the Veteran was found to have no range of motion in his right wrist for several tests. It was also noted that the Veteran could not lift using his right upper extremity. However, the examiner did not find any degree of ankylosis. The Board finds that these indications of the functional limitations of the Veteran's right wrist are incongruent and clarification from the examiner regarding the potential for a functional equivalent to ankylosis of the right wrist is necessary to provide the option for the most favorable outcome for the Veteran. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page) Obtain an addendum opinion from the examiner who conducted the Veteran's January 2022 VA examination. If that examiner is no longer available, obtain a new examination of the Veteran's right wrist from a qualified examiner. The examiner is specifically asked to determine if the severe limitations of motion demonstrated in the Veteran's January 2022 VA examination are the functional equivalent to ankylosis. If so, the examiner is asked to determine what degree any type of ankylosis as stated the rating criteria. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Parrish 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.