Citation Nr: 21024818
Decision Date: 04/26/21	Archive Date: 04/26/21

DOCKET NO. 14-34 415
DATE: April 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 40 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 40 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013, is remanded.

Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September1990 to August 1994.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from October 2012 and May 2014 rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

1. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013 is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 40 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

3. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013, is remanded.

4. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 40 percent for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

5. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity effective from August 27, 2012, to March 18, 2013, is remanded.

6. Entitlement to a rating in excess of 20 percent for radiculopathy of the right lower extremity effective from March 19, 2013, is remanded.

A review of the record indicates that the Veteran last received an examination for his lumbar spine disability and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy in April 2015.  Moreover, the Board notes that the available treatment records are inadequate to properly evaluate the severity of the Veteran’s disabilities.  Accordingly, VA’s duty to assist includes providing a new medical examination when the available evidence is too old for an adequate evaluation of the current condition and the disability may have worsened.  Thus, for the above stated reasons, the Board finds a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous examination to determine the current severity of his disabilities.  See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that, where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant’s disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records from October 14, 2015, to the present.  

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his lumbar spine and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.  

The VA examination reports must include a complete rationale for all opinions expressed. 

In providing all of the requested opinions, the examiner should consider the Veteran’s competent lay claims regarding the observable symptoms he has experienced.

 

 

Michael J. Skaltsounis

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	R. Rescan, 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.