Citation Nr: 21040732
Decision Date: 07/06/21	Archive Date: 07/06/21

DOCKET NO. 09-37 367A
DATE: July 6, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from October 2002 to October 2006.

In May 2020, the Veteran requested expedited treatment of his appeal due to financial hardship and physical limitations. Although he submitted medical bills, he did not submit evidence demonstrating an inability to pay those bills or other financial hardship sufficient to find need for advancement on the docket. His motion is therefore denied at this time.

1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded.

Additional remand is needed to reschedule the Veteran for an examination and obtain a medical opinion. In the February 2019 decision, the Board remanded this issue to obtain a new examination and medical opinion to address a newly evidenced low back diagnosis from private treatment. Back examinations have been scheduled and canceled for this Veteran numerous times. The record shows he was again scheduled for an examination for his back in 2019 but failed to appear. 

In the June 2021 informal hearing presentation, the Veteran's representative wrote that the Veteran failed to appear for his back examination due to effects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has tried to reschedule through the VA hotline several times. As the Veteran has presented good cause for missing the examination, he should be rescheduled.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain and associate with the claims file any outstanding VA treatment records.

2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination for his low back claim. Whether or not the Veteran attends the examination, a medical opinion should be obtained in which the expert addresses the October 2018 diagnosis of lumbosacral disc degeneration and August 2018 MRI report and determines if the current low back disability is at least as likely as not related to service. All opinions must be supported by detailed rationale. If the opinion cannot be provided without resort to speculation, the expert should explain why, and state whether the inability is due to the absence of evidence or limits of scientific/medical knowledge.

 

 

A. S. CARACCIOLO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A.P. Armstrong

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.