Citation Nr: 18160142 Decision Date: 12/26/18 Archive Date: 12/26/18 DOCKET NO. 17-13 709 DATE: December 26, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a low back disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity sciatica as secondary to a lower lumbar condition is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity sciatica as secondary to a lower lumbar condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1951 to August 1955 and from November 1955 to April 1958. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an September 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran timely perfected his appeal. See October 2016 Notice of Disagreement, January 2017 Statement of the Case, and March 2017 VA Form 9. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a lower lumbar condition is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral lower extremity sciatica, to include as secondary to a lower lumbar condition is remanded. The Veteran contends that he has a current low back disorder that began during his military service. The Veteran also contends that his left and right extremity sciatica are secondary to his nonservice-connected lower lumbar condition. As regard service connection for a low back disorder, the Veteran reported in his October 2016 NOD that he sustained a back injury in 1952. He also stated that he saw the ship’s medical staff at which time he was provided aspirin and repeated the visit at sick bay with the same result. The Veteran further reported in his March 2017 substantive appeal that he severely injured his back during rough seas, at which time he reported that he was nearly washed overboard. He also claimed that the incident would be reflected in the ship’s logs. The Board notes that all the Veteran’s medical and personnel records have been associated with the claims file. See July 2016 Request for Information. The Veteran’s service treatment records do not reflect a 1952 incident. An in-service sick call treatment record, however, indicates that the Veteran sustained an injury in January 1955 in which he fell backward off a winch and hit his back. The complaint was recorded in December 1957, nearly two years after the occurrence, and no specific injury, treatment, or treatment plan was recorded. The Veteran’s separation examination shows a clinically normal back and does not indicate any subjective complaints of low back pain. The Veteran’s VA treatment records associated with the file contain a finding of lumbago. Given the foregoing, a remand for an examination and opinion is warranted to obtain medical guidance as to whether the Veteran has a back disorder, and if so, whether such disorder can be attributed in any way to the back injury noted in service. In addition, the Veteran has contended that his bilateral sciatica is a direct result of his low back disorder. See October 2016 NOD. If the Veteran is found to have a low back disorder is found that can be related to service, the examination and opinion should also address whether the Veteran has bilateral lower extremity sciatica, which may be proximately due to, or aggravated by, any such back disorder. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate examiner to determine the existence and etiology of any low back disorder. The examiner is asked to the respond to the following: (1) State whether the Veteran has a low back disorder. If so, is it at least as likely as not that any low back disorder that the Veteran now has, is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including as due to a January 1955 in-service fall? (Continued on the next page)   (2) If the Veteran is found to have a low back disorder, state whether the Veteran has sciatica (or any other neurological impairment) that involves the right and left lower extremities. If so, is it at least as likely as not that the sciatica (or any other neurological impairment) affecting right and left lower extremities was caused by, or has progressed at abnormally high rated due to, a low back disorder? DEBORAH W. SINGLETON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Tiffany N. Hanson, Associate Counsel