Citation Nr: 21075420 Decision Date: 12/20/21 Archive Date: 12/20/21 DOCKET NO. 17-57 363 DATE: December 20, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for spondylosis of the cervical spine is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from March 1972 to March 1976. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a February 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which granted service connection for spondylosis of the cervical spine and assigned an initial 20 percent evaluation. The Veteran testified before the undersigned at a July 2021 Board virtual hearing; a transcript is of record. Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for spondylosis of the cervical spine The Veteran seeks a higher rating for his service-connected cervical spine disability, currently diagnosed as spondylosis of the cervical spine. A review of the record reveals that a current VA examination is needed in order to accurately assess the severity of the Veteran's cervical spine disability. The Board notes that the Veteran's last VA examination was conducted in December 2013, eight years ago. VA's duty to assist includes the conduct of a thorough and comprehensive medical examination. Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 214 (1991) (holding that where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of that disability, the fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination). This includes providing a new medical examination when the available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the current condition. Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1994) (finding that VA should have ordered a contemporaneous examination of veteran because a 23-month-old exam was too remote in time to adequately support the decision in an appeal for an increased rating). The Board is cognizant that the Veteran testified that he had undergone numerous examinations, including more recently. While the record reveals examinations for various other service-connected disabilities, it does not include any more recent cervical spine examination reports. Accordingly, a more contemporaneous VA examination is required to provide a current picture of the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.326, 3.327. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from January 2021 to the present. 2. Then schedule an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected cervical spine disability, currently diagnosed as spondylosis of the cervical spine. 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. In so doing, 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). 3. Then readjudicate the issue on appeal for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for spondylosis of the cervical spine. If the claim is not granted to the Veteran's satisfaction, send the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and allow the appropriate time for response. C. CRAWFORD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Dean, 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.