Citation Nr: 22016523 Decision Date: 03/22/22 Archive Date: 03/22/22 DOCKET NO. 16-49 983 DATE: March 22, 2022 REMANDED Service connection for a right hip disorder is remanded. Service connection for a lumbar spine disorder is remanded. Service connection for a thoracic spine disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 1970 to December 1971, with additional service in the Army National Guard. This matter was previously before the Board in July 2019. As a procedural matter, the Board remanded the claims on appeal in July 2019 for additional development, to include verifying the Veteran's periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA), and obtaining VA examinations on the Veteran's right hip and lumbar and thoracic spine. The case has now been returned to the Board for further appellate action. Additionally, the Veteran appealed claims of service connection for hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus in a July 2018 Form 9. A Board hearing pertaining to those claims was recently held in November 2021 before a different Veterans Law Judge and those claims will be addressed in a separate Board decision. Finally, in an October 2021 statement, the Veteran, through his representative, raised a claim of service connection for a neck injury. However, the claim has not been previously adjudicated by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ); as such, the Board does not have jurisdiction to decide this issue and it is referred to the AOJ for additional action. Turning to the claims on appeal, regrettably, further development is required to determine the nature and etiology of his right hip, lumbar spine, and thoracic spine disorders. Specifically, in July 2019, the Board instructed VA to verify all the Veteran's periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA service and to state definitively whether they constituted periods of federalized service. However, while VA obtained the Veteran's personnel records, it neither verified his periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA service nor identified whether they constituted periods of federalized service. Additionally, the Veteran was afforded VA examinations of his right hip, lumbar spine, and thoracic spine disorders in November 2020. The examiner opined that the disabilities were each less likely than not incurred in or caused by an in-service injury. However, the examiner's rationale for his right hip disorder centered around the Veteran's report of an in-service back injury rather than his reported history of developing hip pain in 1980 as a result of physical training and running. Furthermore, the examiner's rationales for all three disorders were reliant on the lack of medical records showing in-service diagnoses or treatment of any right hip, lumbar spine, or thoracic spine disorder, and lack of documentation of continuity of symptomatology. As such, further development is required in order to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's right hip, lumbar spine, and thoracic spine disorders. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Identify and obtain any pertinent, outstanding VA and private treatment records not currently of record and associate them with the claims file. 2. Obtain any outstanding personnel records not previously obtained and issue a memorandum verifying all periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA service with the Army National Guard, to include the dates and type of service (i.e. active duty, ACDUTRA, INACDUTRA) for each period, and stating definitively whether each period of service constituted federalized service. If this information is unavailable, issue a formal determination that the information cannot be ascertained or that further efforts to obtain such information would be futile. 3. Direct the claims file to a clinician for opinions as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or greater) that: A right hip disorder is etiologically related to service or has otherwise been continuous since service; A lumbar spine disorder is etiologically related to service or has otherwise been continuous since service; and A thoracic spine disorder is etiologically related to service or has otherwise been continuous since service. In forming the opinions, the examiner must address the Veteran's November 2020 account of incurring a right hip injury in 1980 from physical training and running, as well as his October 2014 and May 2020 lay statements describing a back injury incurred while lifting a tire. (Continued on the next page) If the clinician determines that examinations are necessary in order to provide the requested opinions, then they should be scheduled. Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Spigelman, 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.