Citation Nr: 1323099 Decision Date: 07/19/13 Archive Date: 07/24/13 DOCKET NO. 10-02 405 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to an increased evaluation for a service connected lumbar spine disability, currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling. 2. Entitlement to an increased evaluation for a service connected cervical spine disability, currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. McBrine, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1977 to February 1978, and from January 1982, to March 2003. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Pittsburgh, PA. The Board notes that the Veteran recently filed a claim for entitlement to a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability. As it does not appear this claim has been fully adjudicated, it is referred to the RO for further action. 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 The Board finds that a remand is warranted in this case. The Veteran recently submitted records which appear to indicate that he underwent surgery for his lumbar spine condition in November 2012, since the last Statement of the Case was issued. He also noted recent treatment for his lumbar spine condition, and possibly his cervical spine condition, since the last Statement of the Case was issued and certainly since his last VA compensation and pension examination in October 2008. As the Veteran's spinal surgery likely impacted the severity of his service connected back disabilities, and as it has been over 4 years since his last VA examination for these disabilities, the Board finds that these claims must be remanded for a further VA examination to adequately assess the current level of severity of both his service connected back disabilities. In addition, all recent relevant medical records should be associated with the Veteran's claims folder, including those pertaining to his November 2012 spine surgery. In addition, the Board also points out that the Veteran was recently granted entitlement to Social Security benefits; while some of those records are in the Veteran's claims file, on remand, an effort should be made to ensure sure all relevant Social Security records have been associated with the claims file. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO shall contact the Veteran and request that he provide the names and addresses of any health care providers who have recently treated him for any back condition since 2008. The RO must specifically request any recent Social Security records, and records from Dr. Donald M Whiting from 2011 to present, as well as any other records identified by the Veteran. If these requested records are unavailable, or the search for them otherwise yields negative results and further attempts to obtain these records would be futile, this must be documented in the claims file and the Veteran notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). 2. After completion of the above requested development, and any other development deemed warranted by the record, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his service connected cervical and lumbar spine disabilities. The entire claims file, to include a complete copy of this REMAND, must be made available to the examiner, and the examination report should note review of the file. All relevant testing should be conducted, including range of motion testing. The examiner should note whether the Veteran's service connected lumbar or cervical spine conditions result in any neurological deficits. A complete rationale should be provided for all offered opinions. 3. After completion of the above requested development, and any other development deemed warranted by the record, the RO should adjudicate the claims on appeal in light of all pertinent evidence (to specifically include all that added to the record since the issuance of the last SSOC on the matters on appeal) and legal authority. The RO must provide adequate reasons and bases for its determinations. 4. If any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the RO should furnish to the Veteran and his representative an appropriate supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), and afford them the opportunity to provide written or other argument in response thereto before the claims file is returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters 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. 2012). _________________________________________________ DAVID L. WIGHT 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) (2012).