Citation Nr: 22011177
Decision Date: 02/25/22	Archive Date: 02/25/22

DOCKET NO. 15-37 453
DATE: February 25, 2022

REMANDED

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

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from December 1970 to October 1973.

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 

A Board hearing was held before the undersigned in June 2019. A transcript of the hearing is of record.

This matter was previously before the Board in February 2021 and October 2021 when it was remanded for further development.

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

Although the additional delay is regrettable, the Board finds another remand is required before a decision can be made on the Veteran's claim.

In April 2021, a VA examiner opined that the Veteran's cervical spine condition was not aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine condition, noting essentially that medical literature failed to show a causal relationship between the two conditions.

In October 2021, the Board found further opinion on whether the lumbar spine condition aggravated the cervical spine condition was needed.

In December 2021, another VA examiner opined that the Veteran's cervical spine condition was not aggravated by his lumbar spine condition as there was no objective evidence found to confirm aggravation and medical literature did not support a causal relationship between the two conditions. The December 2021 examiner essentially provided the same rationale as the April 2021 examiner; therefore, the Board again finds further opinion on whether the lumbar spine condition aggravated the cervical spine condition is needed. 

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records for the period from October 2021 to the present. 

2. After obtaining any additional records, obtain an addendum opinion from a VA examiner other than the December 2021 examiner. The Veteran's claims file must be made available to the examiner for review in connection with this request. An examination should only be scheduled if the examiner deems one is necessary for providing the requested opinion.

Following a review of the Veteran's claims file, the examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not (approximately a 50 percent or greater probability) the Veteran's cervical spine condition was aggravated (i.e., any worsening beyond natural progression) by his service-connected lumbar spine condition.

A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If the clinician cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the clinician must provide the reasons why an opinion would require speculation. The clinician must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. Additionally, the clinician must indicate whether any opinion could not be rendered due to limitations of knowledge in the medical community at large and not those of the particular examiner.

 

 

M. SORISIO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Jiggetts

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.