Citation Nr: 18153189
Decision Date: 11/27/18	Archive Date: 11/27/18

DOCKET NO. 15-14 407
DATE:	November 27, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for a back disability, to include degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine, is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from November 1975 to September 1980 and from June 1981 to November 1989. 
Although a VA examination of the Veteran’s back was provided in February 2014, the examiner did not consider the Veteran’s lay statements of a continuity of back symptoms during service and since that time in his rationale.  Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007); Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 301 (2008); Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007).  In that examination, the Veteran reported the onset of his back symptoms in 1976, which began gradually due to wear and tear from lifting heavy equipment.  In a June 2014 private chiropractic report, the Veteran reported a history of back symptoms beginning during his service in the U.S. Navy due to the wear and tear of his service activities.  He stated that he only got treatment a few times in service from sick bay, although he had frequent bouts of pain during active service.  In his April 2015 substantive appeal, via a VA Form 9, the Veteran reported that his low back pain began during his active service, continued intermittently until his discharge from active service and that he did not go to sick bay often but had gotten his own medication to treat his back issues.  Therefore, the claim for entitlement to service connection for a back disability should be remanded to provide a supplemental VA opinion with supporting rationale regarding this matter.  McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 83 (2006); Locklear v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 410 (2006); see Waters v. Shinseki, 601 F.3d 1274, 1276 (2010). 
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. The claims folder and a copy of this remand are to be made available to and reviewed by an appropriate VA examiner, to determine the current nature and etiology of the Veteran’s current back disability(ies).  Reexamination of the Veteran is not needed unless deemed necessary by the examiner providing the opinion in this case.  The examination report is to contain a notation that the examiner reviewed the claims file, including the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms of back problems beginning during his active service and continuing through service, although he did not seek treatment for his back problems more than a few times.  
The examiner is then asked to answer the following:  
Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that: (1) a back disability was incurred during the Veteran’s active service; (2) arthritis manifested within a year of his separation from active service --within a year from his separation November 1989; or (3) a back disability was otherwise caused by or related to the Veteran's military service, including wear and tear due to heavy lifting and other in-service activities.  
It is essential the examiner provide explanatory rationale for opinions on these determinative issues, citing to specific evidence in the file supporting conclusions.
 
DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Saira Spicknall, Counsel