Citation Nr: 1801583 Decision Date: 01/10/18 Archive Date: 01/23/18 DOCKET NO. 14-15 638 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Roanoke, Virginia THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant, Spouse ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Meawad, Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from May 1966 to December 1969. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a February 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia. In August 2017, the Veteran was afforded a videoconference hearing before the undersigned. The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND The Veteran contends that his cervical spine disability was caused by an injury that occurred during service. During the August 2017 hearing, the Veteran stated that he received treatment for his neck injury from a hospital on base while serving in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. The record does not contain any medical records from this facility and there is no indication that these records were requested. Therefore, the RO should attempt to obtain these records on remand. The Veteran has not yet been afforded a VA examination as to the issue of service connection for a cervical spine disability. In light of the Veteran's testimony that he injured his neck in the jeep accident during service, the statement from a fellow service member who saw the Veteran wearing a neck brace in service, and the letter from the Veteran's private physician stating that the Veteran's current cervical spine issue could be related to his inservice injury, the evidence of record is insufficient to adequately adjudicate this claim. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran should be scheduled for a VA examination in order to properly adjudicate the claim for a cervical spine disability. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(d)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4)(i); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81 (2006). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO must contact the Veteran and afford him the opportunity to identify or submit any additional pertinent evidence in support of the issue on appeal, to include lay statements from individuals that have first-hand knowledge, and/or were contemporaneously informed of his in-service and post-service cervical spine disability. Based on his response, the RO must attempt to procure copies of all records which have not previously been obtained from identified treatment sources. When requesting records not in the custody of a Federal department or agency, such as private treatment records, the RO must make an initial request for the records and at least one follow-up request if the records are not received or a response that records do not exist is not received. Regardless of his response, the RO must attempt to obtain service medical records showing neck treatment from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) or other pertinent source, including hospital treatment records from Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file by the RO. If, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named records the RO is unable to secure same, the RO must notify the Veteran and (a) identify the specific records the RO is unable to obtain; (b) briefly explain the efforts that the RO made to obtain those records; (c) describe any further action to be taken by the RO with respect to the claim; and (d) that he is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. The Veteran must then be given an opportunity to respond. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination by an appropriate medical professional to determine the etiology of any currently diagnosed cervical spine disability. The claim file must be made available to the examiner for review. The examiner is to offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that any current cervical spine disability had its onset during or is otherwise related to active service, including the Veteran's reported inservice injury. The Veteran's report of continued symptoms since service must be considered. A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions expressed. If the examiner cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the examiner must provide the reasons why that opinion would require speculation. The examiner must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. Additionally, the examiner must indicate whether any opinion could not be rendered due to limitations of knowledge in the medical community at large and not those of the particular examiner. If upon completion of the above action the claim remains denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This appeal must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all issues 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. §§ 5109B, 7112 (2012). _________________________________________________ E.I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C. § 7252 (2012), 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) (2017).