Citation Nr: 1324026 Decision Date: 07/29/13 Archive Date: 08/07/13 DOCKET NO. 12-12 601 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis, Missouri THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for a left hip disability. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability. 3. Entitlement to service connection for a back disability. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Cryan, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1955 to July 1957. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Louis, Missouri. In May 2011, the Veteran submitted a notice of disagreement with regard to the issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus which were also denied in the April 2011 rating decision. The Veteran specifically limited the appeal to the issues listed on the cover page of this decision when he submitted his substantive appeal in May 2012. Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002). The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required on his part. REMAND A review of the claims file reveals that a remand is necessary before a decision on the merits of the claims can be reached. The Veteran contends that he fell in a ditch and injured his back and hips in service while carrying a back mount radio. He has indicated that the trauma he sustained in service resulted in current disabilities of the hips and back. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has indicated that the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) were unavailable due to a fire at the NPRC. Consequently, there is no record of the Veteran's injury in service. Post-service treatment records from VA indicate that the Veteran was seen for reports of pain in his hips and back beginning in September 2008. X-rays of the lumbar spine obtained in September 2008 reflect that the Veteran was diagnosed with degenerative changes at L5-S1 and large osteophytes involving the lower thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies with bridging osteophytes at various levels. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left and right hips revealed osteoarthritis of the right and left femoroacetabular joint and degenerative disc disease at L4-L5 and L5-S1. A review of the claims file does not show that the Veteran has undergone a VA examination to determine the etiology of the claimed disabilities at issue. In initial service connection claims, VA must provide a VA medical examination where there is (1) competent evidence of a current disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability; (2) evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease occurred in service; (3) an indication that the disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability may be associated with the veteran's service; and (4) insufficient competent medical evidence on file for VA to make a decision on the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c) (2012); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). As noted, in this case, the Veteran claims that he sustained an injury to his back and hips during service. Post-service treatment records from VA reflect a diagnosis of degenerative changes of the hips and lumbar spine. As such, the Veteran should be scheduled for a VA examination to assess his claims for disabilities of the left and right hip and lumbar spine. VA outpatient treatment reports dated from September 2008 to March 2011 have been associated with the paper claims file and an MRI report dated in January 2012 was associated with the virtual VA electronic claims file. When the Veteran submitted his substantive appeal, he indicated that he sought additional treatment at the John Cochran VA Medical Hospital which was not of record. Because there may be outstanding VA medical records that contain information pertinent to the Veteran's claims, an attempt to obtain those records should be made. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2) (2012); Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: (Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). Expedited handling is requested.) 1. Obtain any additional VA treatment records dated prior to September 2008 and obtain any additional VA treatment reports dated since March 2011. Any other pertinent treatment records identified by the Veteran should also be obtained. 2. Following completion of the above, schedule the Veteran for the appropriate VA examination to determine whether there is any relationship between the claimed left and right hip disabilities and the lumbar spine disability and the Veteran's active duty service, including the Veteran's report of an injury to his hips and back. The examiner must review the claims file and that review should be noted in the examination report. The examiner should provide an opinion whether it is as least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any left hip disability, right hip disability, and lumbar spine disability was caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service, including the reported injury in service. A rationale for any opinion expressed should be provided. 3. Then, readjudicate the issues on appeal. If any decision is adverse to the Veteran, issue a supplemental statement of the case and allow the applicable time for response. Then, return the case to the Board. 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). _________________________________________________ BARBARA B. COPELAND 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).