Citation Nr: 21071874 Decision Date: 12/01/21 Archive Date: 12/01/21 DOCKET NO. 19-24 451 DATE: December 1, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a neck disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 1983 to October 1990. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which denied service connection for disabilities of the low back and neck. The Veteran filed a notice of disagreement (NOD) in May 2017 and a statement of the case (SOC) was issued in June 2019. He perfected a timely appeal in August 2019. In December 2020, the Veteran presented sworn testimony during a virtual hearing, which was chaired by the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the Veteran's VA claims file. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a neck disability is remanded. The Veteran asserts entitlement to service connection for disabilities of the low back and neck. He contends that he incurred low back and neck disabilities as a result of "repeated, cumulative trauma . . . from over 1000 hours of flying high G tactical, ground attack jet aircraft." See the Veteran's statement dated May 2016. The Veteran's service personnel records confirm that he served as a pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. As to his contentions of in-service injury, his service treatment records do not document complaints of back or neck symptoms, nor are any neck or low back injuries or disabilities noted. However, the Board observes that the Veteran is competent to describe the circumstances of his military duties. See Jandreau v. Shinseki, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (lay witness capable of diagnosing dislocated shoulder); Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 308-9 (2007). In support of his contentions, the Veteran submitted an article entitled, 'Minimization of Chronic Back Pain in Military Pilots and Vehicle Occupants.' Post-service treatment records document a diagnosis of lumbar disc disease in August 2009. See also the MRI report dated August 2009. At the December 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran offered testimony concerning pain in his low back and neck, which he contends dated from his active duty service. The Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination or medical opinion as to his low back and neck claims. As such, the Board finds that these matters must be remanded in order to afford the Veteran VA examinations to address the etiology of the claimed disabilities. See Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 270 (2002); see also 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4) (a medical examination or opinion is necessary if the information and evidence of record does not contain sufficient competent medical evidence to decide the claim). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities of the low back and neck. All indicated tests and studies should be conducted. The contents of the electronic claims file must be made available to the examiner for review in connection with the examination. With respect to any diagnosed low back and/or neck disability to include any pain causing impairment, is it at least as likely as not that the identified disability was incurred in the Veteran's active duty service or manifested within a year of his active duty discharge? The examiner must address whether the Veteran's disabilities were incurred as a result of his service as a pilot of high G tactical jet aircraft. In providing the opinion and rationale, the examiner should consider the relevant evidence of record, particularly (1) the Veteran's service treatment records; (2) the post-service treatment records described above; (3) the Veteran's December 2020 hearing testimony regarding the onset and duration of his symptoms; and (4) the article submitted by the Veteran entitled, 'Minimization of Chronic Back Pain in Military Pilots and Vehicle Occupants.' The examiner must also consider the Veteran's description of his in-service symptoms and injuries as well as his post-service symptoms. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injuries and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current low back and/or neck disabilities, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the disabilities are known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? The examiner should note that the absence of evidence of treatment for a disability in the Veteran's service treatment records should not serve as the sole basis for a negative opinion. All examination findings/testing results (if any), along with complete, clearly-stated rationale for the conclusions reached, must be provided. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board K. K. Buckley, Counsel 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.