Citation Nr: 1324308 Decision Date: 07/31/13 Archive Date: 08/07/13 DOCKET NO. 10-07 924 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis, Missouri THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD R. Giannecchini, Counsel REMAND The Veteran had active military service from October 1986 to October 1989. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal following a July 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Louis, Missouri. In the July 2009 rating decision, the RO denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and for degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine (claimed as a low back disability). The Veteran appealed the denial of both issues but did not perfect an appeal of the issue of service connection for hearing loss. As such, that issue is not in appellate status. The Veteran contends that while serving in the United States Navy aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61), he fell down one of the aircraft carrier's ladders, breaking his tail bone (coccyx) and requiring medical treatment. In his application for VA benefits (VA Form 21-526), the Veteran has identified the date of the accident/injury as November 1, 1987. Additionally, in a notice of disagreement (NOD) received in August 2009, the Veteran reported that following his fall, he was declared "man down" and was evacuated to sick bay. He was subsequently placed on bed rest and limited duty. Post-service medical evidence documents a diagnosis of degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine. The Board notes that the Veteran is competent to report having fallen down a ladder, injuring his tailbone, and being medically treated aboard ship. A review of the claims folder reflects a limited number of the Veteran's service records were located by National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Of those available records, the only service treatment records (STRs) are the Veteran's report of entrance medical examination and the report of entrance medical history. Otherwise, there are no additional STRs apparently available through the NPRC. In light of the above and VA's heightened duty to assist, especially when STRs are lost or unavailable, the Board will remand the Veteran's claim for the purpose of obtaining USS Ranger deck logs. A United States Navy ship's deck log is the daily chronology of specific events occurring aboard for administrative and legal purposes; it identifies a ship's location and daily movements, and will also list any personnel accidents/injuries, arrests, deaths, honors, movements and any new personnel reporting aboard. In the instant case, the Veteran's reported fall, injury, and evacuation to sick bay may be documented in the USS Ranger deck log for that day the fall and injury occurred. At a minimum, VA's duty to assist requires that the deck logs be reviewed prior to consideration of the Veteran's claim on appeal. Also, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) should again invite the Veteran to submit buddy statements from any member of the ship's crew who witnessed the Veteran fall or knew of his injury and treatment aboard the USS Ranger. See e.g. Garlejo v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 619, 620-21 (1992). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Notify the Veteran that he may submit "buddy statements" from any member of the USS Ranger's crew who witnessed his fall or knew of his injury and treatment onboard ship. 2. Ask that the Veteran again provide the date that he fell down ladder and injured his tailbone while aboard ship. (The Veteran previously identified in a VA Form 21-526 that the fall and injury occurred on November 1, 1987. The Veteran is advised that the date of the fall is important for purposes of searching ship deck logs.) 3. After allowing a reasonable time for the above development, contact the Naval History and Heritage Command (Ships Deck Logs Section, Naval History and Heritage Command, Building 57, 805 Kidder Breese Street SE, Washington Naval Yard, Washington, DC 20374-5060) and request the USS Ranger (CV-61) deck logs, or a search of such deck logs for information of an accident involving a fall by the Veteran down a ship's ladder and injury, based on the date(s) provided by the Veteran. Any negative response from the Naval History and Heritage Command must be associated with the claims folder. (The search should be for reasonable date range around the dates specifically provided by the Veteran as the date of the injury.) 4. After the above has been completed, undertake any additional evidentiary development deemed appropriate to include scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination. The examiner should be asked to provide an opinion as to the medical probabilities that any current disability is traceable to the putative fall and injury the Veteran sustained in service. The examiner should set forth the medical reasons for accepting or rejecting the Veteran's explanation of what happened and his report of continued problems since service. 5. Thereafter, re-adjudicate the issue on appeal. If the benefit sought is denied, the Veteran and his representative must be provided a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and given an opportunity to respond before the case is returned to the Board. The Veteran 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 remanded by the Board 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. 2013). ________________________________ MARK F. HALSEY Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board 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).