Citation Nr: 20032234 Decision Date: 05/07/20 Archive Date: 05/07/20 DOCKET NO. 14-41 632 DATE: May 7, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected lumbar strain prior to November 28, 2018 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the United States Marine Corps from November 1990 to September 1991 and June 2000 to June 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Hartford, Connecticut. The Board remanded the case to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in March 2018 and September 2019. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). 1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected lumbar strain prior to November 28, 2018 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter is remanded. The Veteran seeks a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected lumbar strain prior to November 28, 2018 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter. Although the record contains contemporaneous VA examinations regarding the Veteran’s lumbar strain, the most recent VA examination in October 2019 does not comply with the September 2019 remand directives. The Board notes that the prior September 2019 Board remand requested that the examiner should express any additional functional loss due to flare-ups and/or with repeated use in terms of additional degrees of limited motion and if the examination was not conducted during a flare-up, the examiner should estimate the functional impact based upon the Veteran’s reports. Although the October 2019 VA examiner noted that the Veteran may develop increased back pain, decreased back range of motion, and decreased back function during flare-ups and after repetitive use and while performing manual labor; the examiner did not describe the functional loss in terms of range of motion, which renders the examination inadequate. Therefore, the Board finds that additional medical opinion is warranted to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s lumbar strain. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an addendum opinion from the October 2019 VA examiner or other suitable examiner if the October 2019 examiner is unavailable. If the examiner indicates that another VA examination is necessary to respond to this inquiry, one should be afforded the Veteran. The examiner should address the following: Based on the October 2019 examination findings of increased back pain, decreased back range of motion, and decreased back function during flare-ups and after repetitive use and while performing manual labor, and/or any other symptoms noted above during flare-ups and/or with repeated use, the examiner, to the extent possible, should express any such additional functional loss in terms of additional degrees of limited motion. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement, or an opinion regarding flare-ups, symptoms, or functional impairment 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. S. L. Kennedy Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board G. Johnson 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.