Citation Nr: 22044210 Decision Date: 08/03/22 Archive Date: 08/03/22 DOCKET NO. 15-45 146 DATE: August 3, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for cervical stenosis, status post C-6 discectomy is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from September 1975 to November 1979, with additional active service in the Air National Guard from November 1987 to May 1988, March to July 1993, February to May 1994, December 1994 to January 1995, and December 2002 to May 2003. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2004 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Boise, Idaho. The Veteran testified before the undersigned at an April 2019 Board hearing. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the record. This appeal was previously before the Board in June 2021, at which time it was denied. The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In March 2022, counsel for the Veteran and the Secretary of VA filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR). The Court subsequently granted the motion, vacated in relevant part the Board's June 2021 decision, and remanded the case to the Board for further development. The JMPR acknowledged that the Board erred in finding that there was substantial compliance with a September 2019 remand directive and by relying on an inadequate April 2020 VA examination in denying the Veteran's claim. Specifically, the Board's September 2019 remand instructions asked the examiner to address the Veteran's lay statements concerning a possible link between his in-service duties and his cervical spine condition. The resulting report did not address these statements. The parties also agreed that the Board erred in relying on the April 2020 examination report, as its author did not address the Veteran's reports of in-service onset of cervical spine symptoms. Finally, the parties to the JMPR agreed that the April 2020 examination report contained a possible factual conflict, in that the examiner indicated that the Veteran was not seen for neck pain during active duty, despite a September 1977 service treatment record documenting upper back pain. The parties agreed that a remand was warranted to allow VA to satisfy its duty to assist by providing a new examination that comports with the Board's September 2019 remand instructions and addresses the Veteran's lay reports of in-service onset of symptoms and the September 1977 service treatment record. The Board does so herein. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine the etiology of his cervical stenosis. Following examination and review of the record, the examiner is asked to opine on whether the Veteran's cervical stenosis had its onset during service or is otherwise related to service, to include as due to working with arms overhead and working upside down. In addressing this question, the examiner must comment on the September 1977 documentation of upper back pain in the Veteran's service treatment record. The examiner should also address the Veteran's reports of cervical spine symptomatology which began on deployment in 2003 and continued after service and should not rely solely on the absence of documented complaints in service or at service separation. A detailed rationale should be provided for any opinions expressed. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Jeremy J. Olsen, 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.