Citation Nr: 19124409 Decision Date: 04/02/19 Archive Date: 04/01/19 DOCKET NO. 17-58 040 DATE: April 2, 2019 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a back condition is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1975 to January 1978 and the Air Force from August 1990 to June 1991. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas. Regrettably, additional development is necessary before the issue on appeal can be adjudicated. The Board recognizes that the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination for his claimed low back condition. A medical examination or medical opinion is necessary if the information and evidence of record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim, but: (1) contains competent evidence of a current diagnosed disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability; (2) establishes that an event, injury, or disease occurred in service or certain diseases manifested during an applicable presumptive period for which the claimant qualifies; and (3) indicates that the disability or symptoms may be associated with the established event, injury or disease in service or with another service-connected disability. McClendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The Veteran’s post-service medical treatment records reflect that he received ongoing treatment for a low back condition during the appeal period. The Veteran has provided detailed statements regarding the strenuous nature of his work in service and the injury incurred on his back. His statements are consistent with the nature of his military occupational specialties (MOS) and other military duties. The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for a low back condition because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran has a current back disability that is etiologically related to his military service, to include his in-service back injury. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s updated VA treatment records and associate them with the evidence of record. If possible, the Veteran himself should submit these records (if any), and any other new treatment for this problem, himself, to expedite the case. Any assistance on this issue would be appreciated. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s low back condition. Specifically, the examiner should opine whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's low back condition had its onset during or is otherwise related to active service. A complete rationale for any opinions expressed should be provided. The report should set forth all complaints, findings, and diagnoses relating to the Veteran’s low back condition and provide a rationale for all conclusions reached. If the requested opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is caused by a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge, i.e., no one could respond given medical science and the known facts, or by a deficiency in the record or the examiner, i.e., additional facts are required, or the examiner does not have the needed knowledge or training. 3. After completion of the aforementioned, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) should readjudicate the claim for service connection for low back condition. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted, then the AOJ should provide the Veteran with a supplemental statement of the case and afford him the appropriate opportunity to respond thereto. Thereafter, the case must be returned to the Board for further appellate review. JOHN J. CROWLEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD E. E. VanValkenburg, Associate Counsel