Citation Nr: 21024258
Decision Date: 04/22/21	Archive Date: 04/22/21

DOCKET NO. 15-45 684
DATE: April 22, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran, who is the appellant in this case, served on active duty from September 2006 to February 2007, form April 2007 to October 2007, and from November 2007 to May 2008.  She had additional active duty from training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) with the North Dakota National Guard during the period from December 2005 to November 2013.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In July 2020, the Board remanded this matter for additional development.  Unfortunately, another remand is necessary.

Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine disorder is remanded.

In the June 2020 remand, the Board directed the RO to obtain an opinion as to whether the Veteran’s cervical spine disorder has been aggravated by “the service-connected right foot disability.”  As the Veteran is not in receipt of service connection for a right foot disability, the Board’s prior reference appears to be a typographical error.  Unfortunately, this error resulted in the January 2021 VA examiner being asked the incorrect question.  Therefore, remand is necessary to obtain a medical opinion as to whether any current cervical spine disorder has been aggravated by her service-connected disabilities, including degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and degenerative changes of the right hip.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain a new medical opinion as to the etiology of the Veteran’s cervical spine disorder.  A new examination is only required if deemed necessary by the examiner. The entire claims file and a copy of this remand must be made available to the examiner for review, and the examiner must specifically acknowledge receipt and review of these materials in any reports generated.

(Continued on the next page)

 

The examiner is asked to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s cervical spine disorder underwent any incremental increase in disability, regardless of its permanence, due to the service-connected right foot disability.  The term “incremental increase in disability” means additional impairment of earning capacity.  Objective measurement, or numerical quantification, is not required to ascertain an increase in disability.  Moreover, any “incremental increase in disability” need not be permanent.

2. Then, readjudicate the issue on appeal.

 

 

S. B. MAYS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Thomas, 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.