Citation Nr: 18138693 Decision Date: 09/27/18 Archive Date: 09/26/18 DOCKET NO. 18-41 440 DATE: September 27, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for lower back disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1944 to March 1946. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2018 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Houston, TX, which denied service connection for a lower back disability because the records do not show evidence of complaints, treatment, or diagnosis of a lower back disability or injury while in-service. In August 2018, the Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD). A statement of the case (SOC) was issued in July 2018 and the Veteran field a substantive appeal (via a VA Form 9, Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals) in August 2018. The case has been advanced on the Board’s docket. See 38 U.S.C. § 7017(a)(2)(C) (2012) and 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2017). For the reasons expressed below, the claim on appeal is being remanded to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the Veteran when further action, on his part, is required. 1. Lower Back Pain The Veteran alleges that his lower back disability is a result of his military service as a Seaman first class when he was assigned to scrub, scrape, and paint ship decks, and required to carry heavy backpacks on his back. He stated that his back bothered him some then, but he does not remember if he saw a doctor. The Veteran filed a claim for service connection for a lower back disability in October 2017. Throughout the pertinent time on appeal, the Veteran has been assessed with chronic low back pain. The Veteran indicated that he has endured constant back pain since service. A VA examination has not been afforded. Given that the Veteran has a present disability that may be related to the service, the Board finds that the Veteran should be afforded a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any lumbar spine disability. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81-83 (2006). The claims record indicates that the Veteran receives most of his medical treatment through a private practitioner. However, the Veteran’s private treatment records have not been associated with the claims file. In light of the foregoing, the Board finds that a remand is necessary to attempt to obtain the private treatment records and to give the Veteran another opportunity to provide information (to include completing and submitting VA Form 21-4142, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs) or evidence pertinent to the claim on appeal. Accordingly, this matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Send to the Veteran and his representative a letter requesting that the Veteran provide information, and if necessary, authorization, to obtain any additional evidence pertinent to the claim on appeal that is not currently of record. Specifically request that the Veteran furnish, or furnish appropriate authorization to obtain, all outstanding, pertinent private (non-VA) medical records. 2. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records and associate them with the claims file. 3. Schedule the Veteran for the appropriate VA examination to evaluate the nature and etiology of the claimed lower back disability. The examiner should be provided a copy of the Veteran’s claim file and is requested to review it in conjunction with this remand. Any appropriate evaluations, studies, and testing deemed necessary by the examiner should be conducted, and the results included in the examination report. Based on the examination results and review of the record, the examiner should provide an opinion as to the following: Whether it is at least likely as not (50 percent or greater likelihood) that the current lower back disability had its onset in-service or is otherwise related to service. The Veteran has stated the he believes that his lower back disability is a result of his military service as a Seaman first class when he was assigned to scrub, scrape, and paint ship decks, and required to carry heavy backpacks on his back. In formulating the opinions, the term “at least likely as not” does not mean “within the realm of possibility.” Rather, it means that the weight of the medical evidence both for and against the claim is so evenly divided that it is as medically sound to find in favor of the claim as it is to find against. Any opinions offered should be accompanied by the underlying reasons for the conclusions. If the examiner is unable to offer any of the requested opinions, a rationale should be provided for the conclusion that an opinion could not be provided without resort to speculation, together with a statement as to whether there is additional evidence that could enable an opinion to be provided, or whether the inability to provide the opinion is based on the limits of medical knowledge. K. J. ALIBRANDO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E. Steele, Associate Counsel