BVA9501666 
DOCKET NO.  90-52 660     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on
individual unemployability.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: The American Legion

WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

J. A. McDonald, Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran served on active duty from November 1976 to November
1979 and from July 1981 to March 1982.  The matter originally
came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (hereinafter Board) on
appeal from a decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Regional Office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (hereinafter
RO).  The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to a
total rating for compensation purposes based upon individual
unemployability in October 1990, and the veteran appealed that
decision to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals
(hereinafter Court).  The Court vacated and remanded the Board's
decision as to the issue of a total rating for compensation
purposes based upon individual unemployability to the Board for
further development consistent with its holding.  
[citation redacted].  After remand to the RO in December 1992, the 
case is now ready for appellate review.

REMAND

The veteran contends that his service-connected bilateral knee
and right hip disabilities are of such severity as to preclude
all types of employment.  The veteran further maintains that his
right hip is productive of pain, resulting in a limp and the use
of a cane.  He maintains that his bilateral knee disorders cause
pain, swelling, and giving way.

In reviewing the record, the Board notes that since the Board
remanded this case in 1992, evidence has been received indicating
that the veteran underwent a total hip replacement in 1993.  This
may have an impact on his ability to work, and thus the Board
feels additional development is called for.

Accordingly, the case is being REMANDED for the following action:

1.  The veteran should be afforded an
examination by an orthopedist to determine
the present extent and severity of his
service connected knee and right hip
disabilities.  The examination should be in
accordance with the VA Physician's Guide for
Disability Evaluation Examinations, and the
examiner should review the veteran's medical
history as delineated in the claims folder.
The examiner should express an opinion as to
the veteran's capacity to work in light of
his disabilities of the knees and right hip.

2.  David Rendleman, M.D., should be
contacted and asked to provide copies of any
treatment records he has pertaining to the
veteran subsequent to August 17, 1993.  He
should be asked to express an opinion as to
the veteran's capacity to work in light of
the current status of the veteran's knee and
right hip disability.

When the above development has been completed, the case should
again be reviewed by the originating agency.  If the decision
remains adverse to the veteran, he and his representative should
be furnished a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afforded a
reasonable period to respond.  Thereafter, subject to current
appellate procedures, the case should be returned to the Board
for further appellate consideration, if appropriate.

The veteran need not take any action unless he is further
informed.  The purpose of this REMAND is to allow for further
development of the record.  No inference should be drawn from it
regarding the final disposition of the veteran's claim.

          E. W. SEERY
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

          (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  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) (1993).