10-18 936, 10-18 936

Veteran served on active duty from October 1991 to September 2008 and appealed VA RO decisions from December 2008 regarding lumbar degenerative disc disease and entitlement to TDIU.
Issues were previously remanded by the Board in February 2014 and July 2016 for additional development.
At an October 2016 VA examination the Veteran reported receiving Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits; however, SSA records are not in the VA file.
Veteran’s representative in April 2017 requested a new VA examination claiming the back condition had worsened.
The Board found no objective or specific evidence of worsening since the October 2016 exam and declined to obtain a new VA examination based solely on generalized representative comments.
The Board remanded the appeal to the AOJ for further development: obtain private/VA records since January 2017 and complete SSA disability records, then readjudicate and, if denial remains, issue a supplemental statement of the case and return to the Board.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Initial rating >10% for lumbar degenerative disc disease	Veteran: condition has worsened; new exam needed	VA/Board: no evidence of material worsening since Oct 2016 exam	Remanded for development (records); no new VA exam ordered absent evidence of worsening
Entitlement to TDIU	Veteran: unemployability due to service-connected disabilities; SSA award indicates disability	VA/Board: SSA records not in file, need to obtain them before readjudication	Remanded to obtain complete SSA records and other recent medical records before readjudication

Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (SSA records are potentially relevant and should be obtained when VA records indicate SSA disability benefits)
Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174 (2007) (mere passage of time does not by itself require a new VA examination)
Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999) (claimant retains the right to submit additional evidence and argument after remand)