Citation Nr: 21022454 Decision Date: 04/15/21 Archive Date: 04/15/21 DOCKET NO. 17-53 245 DATE: April 15, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for vocal cord paralysis from cervical spine surgery is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1973 to August 1977 and from February 1982 to March 1990. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a September 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a November 2019 decision, the Board denied the Veteran’s claims of entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disability as well as entitlement to service connection for vocal cord paralysis from cervical spine surgery. The Veteran appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and in a November 2020 Order, the Court granted a November 2020 Joint Motion for Remand (Joint Motion) in which the parties agreed that the Board’s November 2019 decision should be vacated and remanded. The Joint Motion stipulated that the Board erred by failing to ensure VA satisfied its duty to assist the Veteran in obtaining private treatment records. The Veteran authorized and consented that records from Kaiser Permanente from 1993 to the present be sent to VA. However, the RO mistakenly sent a request for records from Kaiser Permanente from 1999 to present. The Kaiser Permanente records in the claims file only date from 2000 to 2001. The RO must notify and request that the Veteran provide a release for the private treatment records of Kaiser Permanente from 1993 to the present. If additional Kaiser Permanente records are obtained and they are determined to be relevant, then a determination should be made whether a new examination is required. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 to provide VA authorization to obtain additional records from Kaiser Permanente from 1993 to the present. 2. If additional relevant Kaiser Permanente records are obtained, then a determination should be made whether a new examination is required. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. St. Laurent, Associate 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.