Citation Nr: 22014756 Decision Date: 03/14/22 Archive Date: 03/14/22 DOCKET NO. 17-43 375 DATE: March 14, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety) is dismissed. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for lumbar retrolisthesis with lumbar radiculopathy (claimed as chronic low back pain) is remanded. FINDING OF FACT In March 2018, prior to the promulgation of a decision in the appeal, the Veteran withdrew from appeal the issue of entitlement to a higher initial rating for generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety). CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for withdrawal of an appeal by the Veteran are met. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(2), (d) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.55, 20.204 (2021). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Air Force from October 2000 to October 2004. These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In the VA Form 9 Substantive Appeal filed in August 2017, the Veteran requested a hearing before the Board. The Veteran withdrew his request in September 2021. Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety) The Board may dismiss any appeal which fails to identify the specific determination with which the claimant disagrees. 38 U.S.C. § 7105(d). An appeal may be withdrawn as to any or all issues involved in the appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55(a). Withdrawal may be made by the Veteran or by his or her authorized representative in writing. 38 C.F.R. § 19.55(b). In the present case, the Veteran submitted a Statement in Support of Claim on March 7, 2018, indicating that the Veteran wished to withdraw the pending appeal regarding an increased rating for his generalized anxiety disorder with persistent depressive disorder (claimed as depression and anxiety). The signed Statement in Support of Claim constitutes a valid withdrawal of the Veteran's appeal as it complied with the requirement of the applicable regulation by including the name of the Veteran, the applicable VA file number and a statement that the appeal was withdrawn. See Hembree v. Wilkie, 33 Vet. App. 1, 8 (2020) (written withdrawals need only comply with 38 C.F.R. § 20.204(b), renumbered as 38 C.F.R. § 19.55(b)). As the Veteran has withdrawn the appeal as to the claim, there remains no specific determination with which the claimant disagrees. Accordingly, the Board does not have jurisdiction to review the claim on appeal, and the appeal is dismissed. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for lumbar retrolisthesis with lumbar radiculopathy (claimed as chronic low back pain) is remanded. A Compensation and Pension Examination for Thoracolumbar Spine Conditions was completed in July 2016. The examiner diagnosed lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar retrolisthesis L4 on L5. The Veteran told the examiner that he injured his back lifting pallets of water while deployed to Qatar and that he had chronic low back pain ever since. The Veteran's service treatment records are not available and there is no record of a medical examination or medical history at the time of his separation. See STR Reserve STR, January 21, 2016. However, the Veteran's statements to VA personnel in November 2015 indicated that he injured his back while moving furniture very recently and in four conversations with VA personnel that month the Veteran did not mention any earlier injury or chronic pain in his back. The July 2016 VA examination did not include a medical opinion. Remand is required in order to obtain a medical opinion which must address the Veteran's statements about his in-service injury. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his lumbar retrolisthesis with lumbar radiculopathy. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: (a.) Is the lumbar retrolisthesis with lumbar radiculopathy at least as likely as not related to service? The examiner's attention is directed to the Veteran's statement in his July 2016 examination that he injured his lower back lifting pallets of water while deployed to Qatar and that he had chronic low back pain from that point forward. The examiner's attention is also directed to the statement in the September 2016 Notice of Disagreement that the Veteran that he injured his low back working with sandbags in 2002. (b.) If arthritis is diagnosed, is it at least as likely as not that the arthritis (1) began during active service, (2) manifested within one year after discharge from service, or (3) was noted during service with continuity of the same symptomatology since service? Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). J. NICHOLS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Dean, 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.