Citation Nr: 18106960
Decision Date: 06/01/18	Archive Date: 05/31/18

DOCKET NO. 15-06 299A
DATE:	June 1, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar and cervical spine prior to December 31, 2005 is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from June 1982 to January 1983.
The Veteran appeared before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in a Central Office hearing in January 2017 to present testimony on the issue on appeal.  
Effective as of December 31, 2005 a total (100 percent) evaluation for ankylosing spondylitis has been assigned.  Prior to that date a noncompensable disability rating was assigned, although service connection was established since the day after the Veteran’s separation from active service in January 1983.  The Veteran asserts that there are outstanding medical records that should be obtained to document the severity of his spine disability during the period in question between 1983 and 2005. 
Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar and cervical spine prior to December 31, 2005 is remanded.
Evidence indicates that there may be outstanding relevant VA treatment records.  During the January 2017 hearing, the Veteran reported that he was treated at the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts between 1983 and 1986 for the disability on appeal.  Any VA treatment records are within VA’s constructive possession, and are considered potentially relevant.  A remand is required to allow VA to obtain these records.  
The Veteran also indicates in his hearing testimony that there may be outstanding and relevant Social Security Administration (SSA) records.  Specifically, although records are associated with the claims file from the Veteran’s January 2006 filing with SSA, the Veteran asserts that there is a prior award of SSA benefits from in or around 1989 that is relevant to the present claim. A remand is required to allow VA to request these earlier records.
Additionally, the Veteran’s service treatment records contain range of motion testing of the spine from July and September 1982 prior to discharge from active service.  However, these test measurements are reported in inches and statements such as “chin to chest” as opposed to degrees of movement.  The relevant VA regulations for rating disabilities of the spine are in degrees.  As such, a medical opinion is requested to attempt to translate the recorded measurements from inches into degrees, or the best estimate thereof.  

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records from Jamaica Plain VAMC for the period from 1983-1986.  
2. Contact the SSA to obtain a copy of the decision and all medical records relied upon in conjunction with the Veteran’s successful claim for SSA disability benefits in or around 1989.  
Be aware that SSA records are already associated with the claims file from the Veteran’s January 2006 SSA filing.  This remand specifically seeks all relevant documentation from the prior filing in 1989. 
3. Send the Veteran’s electronic claims file for a medical opinion to estimate the in-service measurements of forward flexion of the spine in degrees. The examiner should review the service treatment records of July 13, July 21, and September 1, 1982 and provide the best estimate of the degrees of forward flexion of the cervical spine and of the thoracolumbar spine given the medical notations from these dates.  If such an estimate is not reasonably feasible for any of the given dates, the examiner is asked to explain the reason for this determination.  
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The examiner is also asked to explain the medical significance of the July 21, 1982 notation regarding the cervical spine that states “forward movement is nod only.”

 
K. J. ALIBRANDO
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	K. McDonald, Associate Counsel