Citation Nr: 21077313 Decision Date: 12/29/21 Archive Date: 12/29/21 DOCKET NO. 15-26 453 DATE: December 29, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for right lower extremity radiculopathy prior to May 13, 2016 is remanded. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 20 percent from May 13, 2016 for right lower extremity radiculopathy is remanded. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy prior to May 13, 2016 is remanded. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 20 percent from May 13, 2016 for left lower extremity radiculopathy is remanded. Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative spurring L1 and L2 is remanded. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1967 to December 1976. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a March 2019 Board hearing. In August 2021, the Veteran requested another hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. However, neither he nor his agent has provided good cause as to why a new hearing is needed. Furthermore, the focus of the issues on appeal has not changed or evolved nor have these claims been remanded to the Board from the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Moreover, there is no indication that the Veteran's earlier hearing is deficient in any manner. Therefore, the Board denies the Veteran's request for another Board hearing. 38 U.S.C. § 7107(b); Cook v. Wilkie, 908 F.3d 813 (2018). The Board remanded the claims on appeal in July 2020. The Veteran's claims folder has returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. In July 2020, the Board also remanded a claim of entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This claim was subsequently granted in a July 2021 rating decision. In view of the foregoing, this issue has been resolved and is no longer before the Board. See generally Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 116 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Higher evaluations for lumbosacral strain with degenerative spurring L1 and L2, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy and TDIU With regard to the claim of entitlement to an increased disability rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative spurring L1 and L2, the Board remanded this claim in July 2020, in part, for the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) to obtain outstanding VA treatment records, in particular records pertaining to a lumbar spine surgery in October 2016. Outstanding VA treatment records were obtained following the Board remand. Pertinently, a VA treatment record dated October 2016 documents the Veteran's lumbar spine surgery at University of Utah Health Care with Dr. B.L. However, there are no records from University of Utah Health Care that have been associated with the claims folder. As such records document the Veteran's lumbar spine surgery and may afford the Veteran a higher disability rating, the Board finds that records from this facility should be obtained on remand and associated with the claims folder. The claims of entitlement to increased ratings for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy and TDIU are inextricably intertwined with the Veteran's lumbar spine disability claim remanded herein. In other words, development of the lumbar spine disability claim may impact the Veteran's right and left lower extremity radiculopathy and TDIU claims. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) [two or more issues are inextricably intertwined if one claim could have significant impact on the other]. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request the Veteran to provide authorization to obtain any outstanding, relevant medical treatment records, to include records from University of Utah Health Care. After securing the necessary authorization, these records should be requested. If any records are not available, the Veteran should be notified of such. 2. Review the claims folder to ensure that all of the foregoing requested development is completed and arrange for any additional development indicated. Then readjudicate the claims on appeal. If the benefits sought remain denied, issue an appropriate supplemental statement of the case. H. N. SCHWARTZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Arif Syed, 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.