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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS
NO. 20-0344
RICHARD LARDINOIS, APPELLANT,
V.
DENIS MCDONOUGH,
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, APPELLEE.
Before BARTLEY, Chief Judge.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
Note: Pursuant to U.S. Vet. App. R. 30(a),
This action may not be cited as precedent.
On October 1, 2019, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) decision denied service connection for
cervical and thoracic spine conditions, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension. Record (R.) at 5-15. For the reasons that follow, the Court will set aside the October 2019 Board decision and
remand the matters for further development and readjudication consistent with this decision.
I. FACTS
Mr. Lardinois served honorably in the U.S. Army from March 1968 to March 1970,
including service in the Republic of Vietnam. R. at 821. Prior to service, Mr. Lardinois was injured during a January 1967 car accident resulting in a whiplash injury. See R. at 847. As of September 1967, Mr. Lardinois was still experiencing residual cervical pain. See id.
During the January 1968 pre-induction examination, a service physician noted a negative neck examination as Mr. Lardinois demonstrated a full range of motion, no spasm or tenderness, and no crepitation. R. at 843. The physician also noted that Mr. Lardinois demonstrated 2 “defective hearing” and assigned a “2” for hearing on the PULHES scale.1 R. at 844 (reflecting a hearing acuity threshold of 55 decibels (dB) in the left ear at 4000 Hertz (Hz)).
Service medical records reflect that Mr. Lardinois received treatment for cervical and upper
thoracic pain resulting from the whiplash injury. R. at 841, 850-55.
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