BVA9501806 
DOCKET NO.  92-06 483     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery,
Alabama

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for benign positional vertigo.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

J. A. McDonald, Associate Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The veteran served on active military duty from May 1937 to March
1962.  This case was previously before the Board of Veterans'
Appeals (hereinafter Board) in September 1993, at which time it
was remanded to the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional
Office in Montgomery, Alabama (hereinafter RO) for further
development of the evidence.

REMAND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (hereinafter VA) has a duty to
assist the veteran in the development of facts pertinent to his
claim.  38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(a)
(1993).  Pursuant to this statutory requirement, the Board
remanded this case to the RO to obtain a VA examination by a
specialist to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's
complaints of vertigo.  A VA examination was conducted in
November 1993 pursuant to this remand.  The veteran's
representative has argued that this examination is inadequate for
adjudication purposes as the examiner failed to express an
opinion as to the etiology of the disability at issue.  The Board
agrees.  Under VA Adjudication Regulations and Guidelines, "if
the [examination] report does not contain sufficient detail, it
is incumbent upon the rating board to return the report as
inadequate . . . ."  38 C.F.R. § 4.2 (1993);  see also VA
Adjudication Procedure Manual, M21-1, Section 55.03.  The United
States Court of Veterans Appeals (hereinafter Court) has held
that the "fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist . . .
includes the conduct of a thorough . . . medical examination . .
. so that the evaluation of the claimed disability will be a
fully informed one."  Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 121, 124
(1991).  Moreover, this duty includes "a medical opinion as to
whether [the veteran's] current [disability is] in any way
related to . . . service."  Id.  The Board therefore concludes
that additional information is needed in order to provide a
record upon which a fair, equitable, and procedurally correct
decision on the veteran's claim for entitlement to service
connection for benign positional vertigo, can be made.
38 C.F.R. §§ 3.326 (1993).

Accordingly, the case is remanded to the RO for the following
action:

1.  Any additional pertinent treatment
records from private and VA sources
subsequent to November 1993 should be
obtained and associated with the claims
file.

2.  The RO should provide the claims file
to the examiner who conducted the November
1993 examination to review in order to
prepare an addendum to the previous
examination of the veteran.  The addendum
should include an opinion as to the
etiology of the veteran's vertigo.  The RO
should schedule further examinations, if
required for the examiner to provide an
informed opinion in compliance with the
September 1993 Board remand.  All
indicated diagnostic test and studies
should be performed.

When the above actions have been completed, the case should be
reviewed by the RO.  If the issue on appeal remains denied, a
supplemental statement of the case should be provided to the
veteran and his representative.  After the veteran has had an
adequate opportunity to respond to the supplemental statement of
the case, the appeal should be returned to the Board for
appellate review.  No action is required by the veteran until he
receives further notice.

          JEFF MARTIN
          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) (1993).