BVA9505054 DOCKET NO. 91-35 480 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder characterized as residuals of a right total hip replacement. 2. Entitlement to an increased disability evaluation for scar residuals of the left cheek and the left neck, currently evaluated as 30 percent disabling. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. T. Hutcheson, Associate Counsel REMAND The veteran had active military service from January 1966 to January 1968. This matter came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (hereinafter "the Board") on appeal from an August 1990 rating decision of the St. Petersburg, Florida Regional Office (hereinafter "the RO") which granted service connection for residuals of a right acromioclavicular separation with bony spurring and painful motion assigning a 10 percent rating; granted service connection for scar residuals of the left cheek and the left neck assigning a 10 percent rating; and denied service connection for osteoarthritis of the right hip. In January 1992, the Board remanded this case to the RO for additional development of the record. In March 1992, the RO increased the disability evaluation for the veteran's service-connected scar residuals from 10 to 30 percent. In June 1993, the Board granted a 20 percent disability evaluation for the veteran's service-connected right shoulder disorder and denied both service connection for a right hip disorder characterized as osteoarthritis and an increased disability evaluation for the veteran's service-connected scar residuals. In November 1994, the United States Court of Veterans Appeals (hereinafter "the Court") indicated that the veteran had not appealed the Board's grant of a 20 percent disability evaluation for his service-connected right shoulder disorder; affirmed those portions of the Board's June 1993 decision which determined that the veteran's service-connected scar residuals of the left cheek and the left neck were productive of no more than severe disfigurement and refused to remand the issue of service connection for a neurological disorder secondary to the veteran's service-connected right shoulder disorder; and vacated the remainder of the Board's decision for further proceedings consistent with its decision. The veteran has been represented throughout this appeal by the Disabled American Veterans. The Court's November 1994 decision directs that: (1) the veteran should be afforded an additional examination of the right hip in order to determine the cause of his osteoarthritis; (2) the veteran's entitlement to an increased disability evaluation for his service-connected scar residuals of the left neck and the left cheek under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7800 (1994) should be evaluated with specific consideration of the applicability of the note following Diagnostic Code 7800; and (3) the veteran's entitlement to a separate disability evaluation for his service-connected scar residuals of the left neck and the left cheek under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7804 (1994) should be considered. Additionally, the Board observes that a February 1995 written statement from the veteran indicates that he underwent a right total hip replacement on August 12, 1993 and has developed osteoarthritis of the right knee. He relates that these disabilities were incurred as a consequence of his active military service. Clinical documentation pertaining to the veteran's right total hip replacement has neither been requested nor incorporated into the record. The veteran's entitlement to service connection for osteoarthritis of the right knee disorder has not been formally considered by the RO. In light of the Court's decision and given the Department of Veterans Affairs' (hereinafter "VA") duty to assist the veteran in the proper development of his claim as mandated by the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(b) (West 1991), this case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should contact the accredited representative and request that the veteran provide information as to the physician who performed his August 1993 right total hip replacement. Upon receipt of the requested information, the RO should then contact the identified physician and request that all available clinical documentation pertaining to his treatment of the veteran be forwarded for incorporation into the record. 2. The RO should then schedule the veteran for a VA orthopedic examination in order to determine the current nature and severity of his right hip and right knee disabilities. The examination should be conducted in accordance with the Physician's Guide to Disability Evaluation Examinations. All indicated tests and studies should be accomplished and the findings then reported in detail. The examiner should express an opinion as to the etiology of all identified disorders including the veteran's right total hip replacement. The claims folder should be made available to the examiner prior to the examination. 3. The RO should then consider the veteran's entitlement to both an increased disability evaluation for his service-connected scar residuals of the left cheek and the left neck under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7800 (1994) with specific consideration of the applicability of the note following Diagnostic Code 7800 and a separate disability evaluation for his scar residuals of the left neck and the left cheek under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.118, Diagnostic Code 7804 (1994). 4. The RO should then formally consider by rating action the veteran's entitlement to service connection for osteoarthritis of the right knee. When the requested action has been completed, and if his claim continues to be denied, the veteran should be afforded a reasonable period of time in which to respond to a statement of the case pertaining to all issues properly in appellate status. 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 and due process of law. No inference should be drawn from it regarding the final disposition of the veteran's claim. E. W. SEERY Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals 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 is appealable to the Court. 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).