BVA9505019 
DOCKET NO.  93-14 684     )       DATE
          )
          )

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

THE ISSUE

Entitlement to an increased evaluation for lumbosacral strain,
currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: The American Legion

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Robert E. O'Brien, Counsel

REMAND

The veteran had active service from February 1962 to May 1965.

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on
appeal from a February 1993 rating decision of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery,
Alabama, which increased a schedular rating for the veteran's
lumbosacral strain from 10 percent to 20 percent disabling,
effective March 2, 1992.

When the veteran was examined in January 1993, he reported that
his back disorder had increased in severity and that he had been
unable to do any kind of work during the last several years.  In
his substantive appeal dated in May 1993, the veteran indicated
that a doctor told him he would never drive a truck or do
mechanical work again, the only types of work that he was trained
for.

In a June 1993 communication the veteran's local representative
stated that the rating examination the veteran was accorded by VA
in January 1993 was inadequate.  The report of this examination
contains little data as to the functional loss resulting from the
pain and muscle spasms which were identified.  In view of the
marked interference with employment claimed by the veteran, the
Board finds that additional development is needed in order to
determine whether or not an increased rating may be warranted on
an extra-schedular basis pursuant to the provisions of 38 C.F.R.
§§ 3.321(b)(1) and 4.16(b).

In light of the foregoing and the Board's duty to assist the
veteran in the development of facts pertinent to his claim, as
mandated by 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991), the case is
REMANDED to the RO for the following actions:

1.  The RO should contact the veteran and
request that he provide the names and
addresses of all health care providers who
have treated him for back disability in the
recent past, specifying the approximate
dates of treatment, if possible.  Then,
after any necessary authorization is
obtained from the veteran, the RO should
obtain copies of any treatment records
identified by the veteran.  The RO should
also obtain and associate with the claims
folder copies of any outpatient treatment
records pertaining to the veteran at the VA
Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama,
since October 1992.

2.  The RO should also provide the veteran
with an application for increased
compensation based on individual
unemployability and request that he
complete this form if he is unemployed and
feels that he is unemployable as the result
of his service-connected back disorder.

3.  Thereafter, a VA orthopedic examination
should be arranged to determine the extent
and severity of the veteran's back
disability.  The claims folder should be
made available to the examiner for review
prior to the examination.  The examiner
should elicit from the veteran details as
to how the back disorder affects his
activities, including time lost from
employment.  Active and passive range of
motion, in terms of degrees, should be
reported, and any portion of the arcs of
motion which are painful should be so
designated.  The examiner should also
describe any functional loss the veteran
may experience as a result of pain,
weakness, or fatigability.  All necessary
tests, to include X-ray studies, should be
conducted.  The examiner should express an
opinion as to the impact of the veteran's
lumbar symptomatology on his ability to
obtain and maintain gainful employment.

4.  After the above actions have been
completed, the case should be readjudicated
by the RO.  The rating decision should
reflect consideration of the applicability
of the provisions of 38 C.F.R.
§§ 3.321(b)(1) and 4.16(b).

Thereafter, if the benefits sought are not granted to the
veteran's satisfaction, a supplemental statement of the case
should be issued and he and his representative should be provided
with the applicable time period in which to respond.  The case
should then be returned to the Board for further consideration,
if otherwise in order.  By this REMAND, the Board intimates no
opinion as to any final outcome warranted.  No action is required
of the veteran until he is notified by the RO.

          GARY L. GICK
          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 deter-
mination.  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 action has been taken in
accordance with the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 303, 108 Stat. 4645, ___ (1994), and 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).