Citation Nr: 21014104 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-10 848 DATE: March 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for neuropathy of the right arm and hand, claimed as secondary to a cervical spine disorder, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 2002 to April 2004, June 2005 to April 2006, and from January 2007 to June 2008. The Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Board hearing in June 2019. A transcript of the hearing is of record. In November 2019, the Board remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder, neuropathy of the right arm and hand, and a disability manifested by blurred vision for further development. By rating decision dated in January 2020, service connection for visual disturbance and light sensitivity was awarded. Therefore, that issue is resolved and no longer before the Board for appellate consideration. Unfortunately, the remaining issues must again be remanded for further development. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder and for secondary neuropathy of the right arm and hand The issues were remanded in November 2019 so that a VA opinion could be rendered regarding whether a trapezius muscle strain noted in the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) in 2007 could be related to the cervical spine disorder diagnosed in 2011. In addition, it was noted that the Veteran had been involved in an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) that she asserted was the cause of her current cervical spine disorder. While a VA examiner rendered a negative nexus opinion in December 2019, the rationale was simply that the Veteran did not have a documented neck injury in her STRs. The examiner made no mention of the 2007 muscle strain or IED explosion. As such, the examination is inadequate for rating purposes and the case must be returned. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). As the Veteran’s right arm nerve damage is claimed as secondary to the cervical spine disorder, this issue must also be remanded as an inextricably intertwined issue. (Continued on the next page)   The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran’s cervical spine disorder and neurologic disorder of the right arm and hand are at least as likely as not related to service. The examiner must specifically address the contentions that the trapezius muscle strain noted in 2007 and the Veteran’s exposure to an IED in service are causative of the cervical spine disorder and resultant right arm and hand neuropathy. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Joseph P. Gervasio 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.