Citation Nr: 19194792
Decision Date: 12/18/19	Archive Date: 12/17/19

DOCKET NO. 13-04 436
DATE: December 18, 2019

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a disability manifested by numbness and tingling of the bilateral hands, to include as secondary to a cervical spine disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1974 to September 1982 and from August 1990 to July 1991.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an October 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In November 2015, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of that hearing is of record.

The case was last before the Board in February 2016, and has returned to the Board for further appellate review.

 

1. Entitlement to service connection for a disability manifested by numbness and tingling of the bilateral hands, to include as secondary to a cervical spine disability is remanded.

While further delay is regrettable, the Board finds that additional development is needed prior to adjudicating the issue on appeal.  The last treatment records in the file are dated in March 2016. Updated treatment records should be requested. 

Additionally, the March 2016 examination did not provide adequate rationale for the opinions provided regarding whether the neurological symptoms in the hands   is an undiagnosed illness. The Board finds an additional examination and opinion would aid in adjudicating the claim. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Ask the Veteran to provide the names and addresses   of all medical care providers who have treated him for neurological symptoms in the hands.  After securing     the necessary releases, request any relevant records identified.  In addition, obtain updated VA treatment records.  If any requested records are unavailable, the Veteran should be notified of such. 

2. After records development is completed, schedule    the Veteran for a peripheral nerve examination. The claims file must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. All indicated tests should be conducted     and the results reported. 

After a review of the claims file, the examiner should provide indicate whether any neurological disability of the hands, to include the decreased sensation in the hand and fingers noted on the January 2016 VA examination, are at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) caused or aggravated by (increased in severity) by the Veteran’s service-connected cervical spine disability. If   the Veteran does not have a diagnosed neurological disability in the hands, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether his complaints of numbness and tingling in the hands cannot be attributed to any known clinical diagnosis and represent an undiagnosed illness consistent with service in the Persian Gulf. A rationale    for all opinions expressed should be provided.

3. If the claim remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case.

 

 

K. A. BANFIELD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A. Lance, Law Clerk

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.