Citation Nr: 22015456 Decision Date: 03/17/22 Archive Date: 03/17/22 DOCKET NO. 16-22 472 DATE: March 17, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine condition with visual impairment is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served honorably on active duty from September 2003 to June 2011. Most recently, in October 2019, the Board remanded the above issue for additional development. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a cervical spine condition with visual impairment is remanded. As previously noted, in October 2019, the Board remanded the Veteran's service connection claim for a cervical spine condition in part to obtain a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's cervical spine condition. According to a January 2022 note, the Veteran failed to appear for the scheduled VA examination. While the Veteran did not provide any cause for not appearing for her scheduled examination, there is no indication that the RO provided notice to the Veteran of the VA examination. Therefore, in order to ensure compliance with the directive in the October 2019 2019 Board remand, the Veteran's claim must be remanded. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (holding that a remand by the Board confers on a veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand orders). See also Tucker v. West, 11 Vet. App. 369, 374 (1998) (explaining that remand is the appropriate remedy where the Board has incorrectly applied the law, failed to provide an adequate statement of reasons or bases for its determinations, or where the record is otherwise inadequate). Consequently, the Board finds that the Veteran should be afforded an additional opportunity to appear for a VA examination in connection with her service connection claim for a cervical spine condition with visual impairment. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule a VA examination from an appropriate clinician regarding the Veteran's cervical spine condition. The Veteran should be notified of the scheduled VA examination at the most recent address of record. The notice must be in writing, and inform the Veteran of the date, time, and location of the VA examination. Such notice must be associated with the claims file. The notification should indicate that it is the Veteran's responsibility to report for any scheduled examination, to cooperate in the development of the claims, and that the consequences for failure to report for VA examinations without good cause may include denial of the claims. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655. 2. The examiner should provide the following information: a. Is it at least as likely as not (a 50 percent or better probability), that the Veteran's diagnosed cervical spine condition (DDD) had its onset in service or is otherwise related to the Veteran's active service, why or why not? The examiner MUST elicit and report the Veteran's relevant symptoms including onset and chronicity, i.e., ask the Veteran if she has had persistent neck pain since service. The examiner MUST also discuss all in-service neck or back complaints of pain, especially the March 2011 service treatment record (STR) where the Veteran reported backpain. The examiner should assess whether the Veteran's condition began within one year of active service. 2. Then, readjudicate the claim. GAYLE STROMMEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. E. Grossman, 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.