Citation Nr: 0002194 Decision Date: 01/28/00 Archive Date: 02/02/00 DOCKET NO. 95-22921 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for residuals of injuries to the left shoulder, low back, hips, and knees, to include arthritis. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Paralyzed Veterans of America, Inc. INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from July 1971 to July 1975. This case came to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a September 1994 RO decision which denied service connection for arthritis. In a December 1997 decision, the Board denied the claim, which the Board phrased as "service connection for arthritis, including the low back, hips, shoulders, and knees." The veteran then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In a May 1999 joint motion to the Court, the parties (the veteran and the VA Secretary) requested that the Board decision be vacated and the matter remanded. In the joint motion, the parties agreed the issue should be styled as "service connection for residuals of injuries to the left shoulder, low back, hips, and knees, to include arthritis;" and the parties agreed the claim was well grounded. In a May 1999 order, the Court granted the joint motion. The case was subsequently returned to the Board, and in December 1999 the veteran's representative submitted additional written argument. REMAND The May 1999 joint motion and Court order require additional development and readjudication of the claim for service connection for residuals of injuries of the left shoulder, low back, hips, and knees, to include arthritis. Accordingly, the Board remands the claim to the RO for the following action: 1. The RO should have the veteran identify (names, addresses, dates) all VA and non-VA doctors or other medical providers who have treated him, since his July 1975 release from active duty, for any problems with his left shoulder, low back, hips, and knees. The RO should then obtain copies of the related medical records which are not already on file. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (1999). 2. After all additional medical records are added to the claims folder, the RO should have the veteran undergo a VA orthopedic examination to determine the nature and etiology of claimed disabilities of the left shoulder, low back, both hips, and both knees. The claims folder must be made available to and reviewed by the doctor, and the examination report should state that such has been done. All indicated tests (including X-rays for arthritis) and consultations should be performed. The doctor should provide clear diagnoses for all current pathology of the left shoulder, low back, both hips, and both knees; and it should be noted whether there is arthritis of these joints. From the historical records, the doctor should note the dates when current problems with these joints were first manifest; and the doctor should give a medical opinion, with full rationale, on the etiology of current disorders of the left shoulder, low back, both hips, and both knees, including whether or not current disorders of these joints are medically related to any injuries or diseases shown in service. 3. After assuring compliance with all remand development, the RO should review the well-grounded claim for service connection for residuals of injuries to the left shoulder, low back, hips, and knees, to include arthritis. If the claim is denied, the veteran and his representative should be issued a supplemental statement of the case, and given an opportunity to respond, before the case is returned to the Board. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded to the RO. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994), 38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 1999) (Historical and Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44- 8.45 and 38.02-38.03. L.W. TOBIN Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 1999), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1999).