BVA9507222 
DOCKET NO.  93-10 989     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: North Carolina Division of
Veterans Affairs

WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

The veteran.

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Mark D. Chestnutt, Associate Counsel

REMAND

The veteran had active duty from November 1942 to November 1945.

A review of the record reveals that the veteran fell and injured
his coccyx in December 1944 in service. He now claims that his
current low back pathology is a residual of that injury. No
recent VA examination has been found in the record and the Board
is of the opinion that further development is needed.

To ensure that VA has met its duty to assist the appellant in
developing the facts pertinent to the claim, the case is REMANDED
to the regional office (RO) for the following development:

1. The veteran should be asked to provide
the names and addresses of all providers of
treatment for his low back condition since
March 1992. Copies of all available records
should be obtained and made a part of the
record.

2. The veteran should be afforded a VA
orthopedic examination to determine the
nature and extent of any current low back
disability.  All necessary tests and
studies should be conducted, and all
clinical manifestations should be reported
in detail.  The claims folder should be
made available to the examiner for review
before the examination.  The examiner is
requested to provide an opinion as to the
likelihood that the veteran's current low
back disability is a residual of the
December 1944 inservice fall on ice.
Reasons and bases for all conclusions
should be given.

Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in
order.  The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome
of this case.  The appellant need take no action unless otherwise
notified.

          WAYNE M. BRAEUER
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board
on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1994).