Citation Nr: 18158053
Decision Date: 12/18/18	Archive Date: 12/14/18

DOCKET NO. 15-06 590A
DATE:	December 18, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for lumbar radiculopathy left lower extremity (also claimed as ruptured disc in low back and degenerative disc disease) is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active military service in the Marine Corps from November 1975 to November 1978 and from September 1979 to September 1982; Army National Guard from September 1985 to July 1986 and from July 1986 to March 1988; Army from February 1990 to July 1990; Air Force from March 2002 to September 2002, from January 2003 to April 2003, from November 2004 to September 2005 and from October 2005 to May 2006; and the Air National Guard from February 2009 to March 2011.
1. Entitlement to service connection for lumbar radiculopathy left lower extremity (also claimed as ruptured disc in low back and degenerative disc disease) is remanded.
After review of the record, additional development is needed prior to adjudication of the Veteran’s claim. Notably, in the Veteran’s March 2015 Form 9 Statement and November 2018 Appellate Brief, the Veteran and his representative mention an opinion by a private physician, Dr. SM, that supports the Veteran’s claim of a causal nexus between his current disability and active military service. However, this opinion has not been associated with the claims file. Therefore, further development is required to comply with the duty to assist the Veteran in developing the facts pertinent to the claim. See 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c).
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Contact the Veteran and request authorization to obtain any outstanding records pertinent to his claim, to include the private opinion by Dr. SM, following proper VA procedures as listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c).
2. After completion of the above, the AOJ should review the expanded record and reconsider whether additional development is needed, in light of Dr. SM’s opinion (if received), prior to readjudication. 
 
A. C. MACKENZIE
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Evan Thomas Hicks