Citation Nr: 20003643
Decision Date: 01/15/20	Archive Date: 01/15/20

DOCKET NO. 17-10 959
DATE: January 15, 2020

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected back strain is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1978 to October 1981 in the United States Army.

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected back strain is remanded.

While the record contains a contemporaneous VA examination regarding the Veteran’s service-connected back strain, the examination does not comply with the requirements in Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26, 34-36 (2017).  The examiner did not attempt to elicit relevant information regarding the description of the Veteran’s flare-ups and any additional functional loss suffered during flare-ups.  Additionally, while the examiner stated that an opinion could not be provided without resort to speculation, the examiner did not indicate that the speculation was due to lack of knowledge within the medical community.

 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 

1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period May 2017 to the present.

2. After completion of the above, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected back strain.  The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria, identifying all orthopedic and neurological manifestations.  

The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of any flare-ups, and the degree of functional loss during flare-ups.  If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement based on direct observation, the examiner should provide an estimate, if at all possible, of the additional impairment due to flare-ups based on the other evidence of record and the Veteran’s statements.  If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement without speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (no one could respond given medical science and the known facts), a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required), or the examiner (does not have the knowledge or training).

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The examiner must identify any related neurological findings. In doing so the examiner must address the Veteran’s competent and credible testimony about numbness and tingling in his left leg.

 

 

M.E. Larkin

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P.S. McLeod

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.