Citation Nr: 0810849 Decision Date: 04/02/08 Archive Date: 04/14/08 DOCKET NO. 05-21 672A ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco, Texas THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for cervical spine disability, to include as secondary to service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant and his spouse ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD L. J. Vecchiollo, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active duty from July 1972 to September 1972. This matter came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision from the Waco, Texas, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A videoconference hearing before the undersigned was conducted in March 2008. This case was advanced on the docket, pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND A letter from J.S.J., D.O., dated in June 2004, noted that the veteran sustained an injury to his cervical spine in May 2004, while working as a plumber; and, since then, he has had severe pain in the neck with radiation into his upper extremities. In July 2004, the veteran requested service connection for a cervical spine disability. He stated that the disability began in May 2004. In September 2004, the veteran underwent cervical spine surgery. A VA examination was conducted in April 2006. The veteran stated that he had recurrent neck pain over the years due to wear and tear as the result of his inservice lumbar spine injury. He denied any cervical spine injury. Although there are several opinions regarding the etiology of the veteran's cervical spine disability, none of them reflects consideration of the veteran's entire medical history. Under such circumstances, another medical opinion is required to make a decision on the claim. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The veteran should be afforded a VA examination by an orthopedist, to determine the nature and extent of his cervical spine disability. All special studies and tests should be undertaken. The examiner should render an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not that the veteran's cervical spine disability is attributable to his inservice injury or his service-connected lumbar spine disability. The claims folder and a copy of this REMAND should be made available to the examiner prior to the examination. All findings should be reported in detail, and the examiner is to address the various existing medical opinions regarding the etiology of the claimed disability. 2. Then, readjudicate the claim. If the claim is denied, send the veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and give them time to respond. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. 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 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2007). _________________________________________________ RONALD W. SCHOLZ Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), 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) (2007).