Citation Nr: 22046022 Decision Date: 08/16/22 Archive Date: 08/16/22 DOCKET NO. 17-60 803 DATE: August 16, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent disabling for service-connected left wrist fracture is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected left wrist scar is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1994 to November 1998. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2017 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board remanded these claims for further development multiple times, most recently in February 2022. 1. Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent disabling for service-connected left wrist fracture is remanded. The Veteran asserts that she is entitled to a higher disability evaluation for her service-connected left wrist fracture. The Veteran has undergone two VA examinations for her left wrist during the period on appeal, that is in June 2017 and October 2019. At her June 2017 VA examination, the VA examiner noted the Veteran's active range of motion (ROM) measurements, but did not note her passive, weight-bearing, or non-weight bearing measurements. Additionally, the June 2017 VA examiner noted that the Veteran had flare-ups, but did not estimate her ROM during a flare-up. Similar to the June 2017 VA examination, the October 2019 VA examiner noted that there was pain on passive ROM, but did not list the ROM measurement, nor did the examiner list ROM measurements for weight-bearing and non-weight bearing. Additionally, the October 2019 VA examiner noted that the Veteran had flare-ups, but did not provide an estimate of ROM during a flare-up. The Board finds the June 2017 and October 2019 VA examinations inadequate as they did not comply with the requirements of Mitchell v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 32, 44 (2011), Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016) and Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). Therefore, the Veteran should be scheduled for an additional VA examination on remand. 2. Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected left wrist scar is remanded. The Veteran asserts that she is entitled to a compensable disability rating for her service-connected left wrist scar. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in June 2017, where the VA examiner noted that she had 3 scars on her left wrist and that none of her scars were painful or unstable. In her July 2017 Notice of Disagreement (NOD), the Veteran noted that she had extreme pain in her left wrist; she did not indicate whether she was talking about her left wrist fracture or her left wrist scar, both of which she was appealing. On remand, a VA examination clarifying whether the Veteran's scars of her left wrist are painful and/or unstable is necessary. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Arrange for a VA examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc. if an in-person examination is not feasible) of the Veteran's service-connected left wrist fracture to assess the severity of the disability for the entire period on appeal. The entire claims file and a copy of this REMAND must be made available to the examiner in conjunction with the examination. In the examination report, the examiner must include all of the following: Correia factors: A. Active range of motion testing results. B. Passive range of motion testing results. C. Weightbearing range of motion testing results. D. Non-weightbearing range of motion testing results. The examiner must provide a numerical range of motion result for each of the above. 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 should clearly explain why that is so. Flare-ups (Sharp): The examiner must elicit as much information as possible from the Veteran regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of flare-ups, their effect on functioning, and precipitating and alleviating factors. If the examination is not performed during a flare-up, the examiner must provide an estimate of additional loss of range of motion during a flare-up. If the examiner is unable to provide an estimate of additional loss of motion during a flare-up, the examiner must provide a specific explanation as to why the available information, including the Veteran's own statements, is not sufficient to make such an estimate. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc. if an in-person examination is not feasible) to determine the severity of her left wrist scar(s) for the entire period on appeal. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Mohammad, Tahmina 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.