Citation Nr: 22009792 Decision Date: 02/18/22 Archive Date: 02/18/22 DOCKET NO. 18-28 876 DATE: February 18, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an upper cervical neck injury is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 2005 to March 2008, including in Afghanistan. This appeal comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional office. The Veteran testified at a hearing with the undersigned in September 2021. Entitlement to service connection for an upper cervical neck injury is remanded The Veteran asserts his current upper cervical neck injury is a result of his time in active service. The Veteran does have a current diagnosis of cervical spondylosis. During the hearing with the undersigned, the Veteran testified to two injuries he obtained while in service. One in August 2006 while serving in Afghanistan, and the other in December 2007 when he was in a motor vehicle accident, specifically in a Humvee. There are several instances in the service treatment records (STRs) that show the Veteran obtained these injuries. He also testified he has experienced his current pain and symptoms ever since. He also was able to describe the medical treatments and procedures he has undergone for the pain in his neck since the injury occurred. The Veteran has not been provided a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his current neck condition and if it is related to his service. VA must provide a medical examination when there is evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) an in-service event, injury, or disease or a service-connected disability, (3) some indication that the claimed disability may be associated with the established event, injury, or disease, and (4) insufficient competent evidence of record for VA to make a decision. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App.79 (2006); see also 38 U.S.C. §5103A (d)(2); 38 C.F.R. §3.159 (c)(4)(i). The third prong, which requires evidence that the claimed disability or symptoms "may be" associated with the established event, is a low threshold. McLendon, 20 Vet. App. at 83. The Board finds the Veteran's reports of neck pain during and since service are sufficient to warrant a VA examination. McLendon, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of a neck disability because no VA examiner has opined whether the current disability is related to his injuries in service. Therefore, a remand is necessary in order to obtain a medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician for the cervical spine. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Is the current cervical spondylosis related to service, to include his documented 2007 neck injury, fall, and motor vehicle accident? Provide a thorough rationale to support the opinion. In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of his in-service injury and symptoms as well as his neck pain beginning in service and continuing to the present. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? LAURA E. COLLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Brewer, 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.