18-51 313

• Court: Board of Veterans' Appeals
• Decided: July 30, 2019
• Docket: 18-51 313
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Citation Nr: 19158984 Decision Date: 07/30/19 Archive Date: 07/30/19

DOCKET NO. 18-51 313 DATE: July 30, 2019

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for right fifth metacarpal fracture is remanded.

Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from December 2005 to March 2011.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2018 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which granted service-connection for right fifth metacarpal fracture and assigned a non-compensable disability rating, effective February 2018.

1. Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for right fifth metacarpal fracture is remanded.

The Veteran filed his intent to file in February 2018, service-connection claim in March 2018, and disagreed with his initial disability rating for right fifth metacarpal fracture in September 2018.

The Board finds that a new examination is warranted. The Veteran’s last VA examination for his service-connected right fifth metacarpal fracture was over a year ago. See April 2018 VA examination. Since his last VA examination, the Veteran has suggested that the symptoms associated with his disability have worsened. See November 2018 Form 9. Where a Veteran asserts that a disability has worsened since his last VA examination, a new examination is required. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d) (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (c)(4) (2018); see also Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403-04 (1997); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991). On remand, the AOJ should afford the Veteran a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected right fifth metacarpal fracture.

2. Entitlement to TDIU is remanded.

The issue of entitlement to TDIU has been raised in this case and will be considered by the Board. See Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-55 (2009). In his November 2018 Form 9, the Veteran explains that the pain in his right hand negatively impacts his ability to work. The Veteran filed a TDIU application in June 2019. See June 2019 VA 21-8940. As a decision on the remanded issue of entitlement to an increased rating for the Veteran’s right fifth metacarpal fracture could impact a decision on entitlement to TDIU, the issues are inextricably intertwined. Accordingly, the Board will defer decision on the matter. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991).

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination to evaluate the current severity of his service-connected right fifth metacarpal fracture residuals. All residuals of the Veteran’s fifth metacarpal fracture should be identified, and their severity assessed.

2. After remand directive 1 is completed, readjudicate the increased rating claim and adjudicate the TDIU claim. If any benefit sought remains denied, provide the Veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), and return the case to the Board.

DONNIE R. HACHEY

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Strickland, Associate 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.