Citation Nr: 22018243 Decision Date: 03/28/22 Archive Date: 03/28/22 DOCKET NO. 18-40 310 DATE: March 28, 2022 REMANDED Service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1986 to April 1997 in the United States Army. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. In November 2021, the Veteran testified before the undersigned during a virtual hearing. A transcript of the hearing is included in the electronic claims file. As a matter of clarification, a claim for service connection for chronic right hip pain was last denied in a final August 2013 rating decision. Typically, when there is a final decision, a claimant must submit "new and material evidence" in order to reopen the claim. However, the Board does not construe the present claim as an application to reopen. In January 2016, subsequent to the August 2013 decision, VA obtained additional service department records relevant to the claim. When VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA previously decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim without the requirement of new and material evidence to reopen the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(c). Service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. Initially, in December 2015 written correspondence and at the November 2021 hearing, the Veteran stated that he has received treatment for his right hip disability at the VA Medical Center in Marion, Indiana. The claims file does not contain records from this facility, or any explanation for their absence. An effort to obtain these records must be made. See Sullivan v. McDonald, 815 F.3d 786, 793 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Additionally, a further VA medical opinion must be obtained prior to appellate adjudication. The Veteran has chronic right hip pain that limits daily activities, including his ability to stand for prolonged periods at work. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018), (holding that pain alone, when causing functional impairment, may constitute a "disability" for VA compensation purposes, even if the pain is not accompanied by a medical diagnosis). His service treatment records are replete with documentation of a bacterial infection, diagnosed as pyomyositis, that occurred in May 1993 and required him to be airlifted back to the United States for treatment. He was considered to be "very seriously ill" and multiple surgeries to remove necrotic tissue and abscesses were performed, including in the area of the right buttock, hip, and pelvis. He is currently service-connected only for a scar associated with these surgeries. A VA examination was conducted in April 2012, but as the Veteran's full service treatment records had not yet been obtained, the examiner's opinion was not founded on a review of all pertinent facts. A further opinion must thus be obtained. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request and obtain from the VA Medical Center in Marion, Indiana any VA treatment records pertaining to the Veteran. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination to obtain an opinion addressing the nature and etiology of his current right hip disability. A complete explanation must be provided for all opinions rendered. (A.) The examiner is advised that pain alone, in the absence of a diagnosed condition, can cause functional impairment of earning capacity and therefore qualify as a disability for VA purposes. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed Cir. 2018). (B.) The examiner is asked to opine on whether it is at least as likely as not that the current right hip disability began during any period of active service or is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including the June 1993 pyomyositis infection. In this rendering this opinion, please consider the numerous service treatment records dated from May 1993 - October 1993 documenting pyomyositis that required the Veteran to be airlifted back to the United States for treatment. He was considered to be "very seriously ill" and multiple surgeries to remove necrotic tissue and abscesses were performed, including in the area of the right buttock, hip, and pelvis. M. Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Smith, 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.