Citation Nr: 21076257
Decision Date: 12/23/21	Archive Date: 12/22/21

DOCKET NO. 18-05 680
DATE: December 23, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating greater than 10 percent for the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain prior to February 12, 2018, and greater than 20 percent thereafter, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from October 2010 to October 2014.  The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge during a July 2021 hearing.

With respect to the Veteran's increased rating claim for the thoracolumbar spine disability, during his July 2022 Board hearing, he indicated that this disability has increased in severity since his last examination. See July 2022 Hearing Transcript, p. 4. He also reported that he had radiating pain and tingling or numbness in his legs. Id, p. 5.  A remand is necessary in order to afford the Veteran another VA examination or examinations that accurately assess the current severity of his lumbar spine disability. Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1995); see also Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain and associate with the file all outstanding VA treatment records.

2. Send the Veteran a letter inviting him to submit, or to authorize VA to obtain on his behalf, any records of private care for his back that are not already of record.

3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with an appropriate professional to determine the extent and severity of his service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability.  

The examiner should assess whether the Veteran experiences additional range of motion loss after repetitive use and/or flare-ups, and provide an estimate as to how much loss would be present, if any.  The examiner should also identify all neurologic manifestations of the Veteran's service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability, to include radiculopathy, or bowel, bladder, or erectile dysfunction. For any neurological impairment found to be associated with the service-connected lumbar spine disability, the examiner is asked, to assess its severity.

4. Then, readjudicate the issue on appeal.

 

V. Chiappetta

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	L. Crohe, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.