Citation Nr: 18147490 Decision Date: 11/06/18 Archive Date: 11/05/18 DOCKET NO. 18-13 404 DATE: November 6, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder disability, to include left rotator cuff tendonitis and left partial rotator cuff tear, is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right rotator cuff tendonitis is remanded.   FINDING OF FACT The evidence supports a finding that the Veteran’s left shoulder disability is related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a left shoulder disability, to include left rotator cuff tendonitis and left partial rotator cuff tear, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 5100, 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served in the Army National Guard from March 1985 to June 1985, from September 2002 to February 2003, and from October 2006 to March 2008. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a November 2017 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Service Connection Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty, in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Generally, to establish service connection for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in service, there must be (1) competent evidence of the current existence of the disability for which service connection is being claimed; (2) competent evidence of incurrence of a disease or injury in active service; and (3) competent evidence of a nexus or connection between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred in service. Horn v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 231, 236 (2010); Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); cf. Gutierrez v. Principi, 19 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2004) (citing Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999)). In addition, service connection is also warranted where the evidence of record establishes that a disability is proximately due to or the result of a service connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3. 310(a). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, VA shall resolve reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). To deny a claim on its merits, the evidence must preponderate against the claim. Alemany v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 518 (1996). Left Shoulder Disability In April 2014, the Veteran received a Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status for a left shoulder dislocation. The examiner indicated that the injury was incurred in the line of duty. A contemporaneous report of medical care showed that the Veteran complained of left shoulder pain since the day before the Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status. There was limited movement of his left shoulder, and the examiner noted mild swelling. The examiner indicated that the Veteran would need to be transported to a hospital for further evaluation by a physician, but noted a possible dislocation. The Veteran received a VA examination in September 2017 and was diagnosed with, amongst other disabilities, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis. The examiner also noted a diagnosis of a partial left rotator cuff tear from November 2016. The Veteran indicated that he injured his left shoulder while taking his ruck sack down from a shelf during a National Guard weekend drill. He could not move his arm and was taken to a hospital where he was told he had a shoulder dislocation. After considering examination results and the April 2014 Statement of Medical Examination and Duty Status, the examiner opined that the Veteran’s disability was at least as likely as not related to the shoulder injury during his weekend drill. The Board finds the September 2017 VA examination highly probative and concludes that service connection for a left shoulder disability, to include left rotator cuff tendonitis and left partial rotator cuff tear is warranted. The examiner considered the Veteran’s history and in-service experiences, and provided a thorough rationale for his conclusions. In so reaching that conclusion, the Board has appropriately applied the benefit of the doubt doctrine in this case. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) (2017); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Ortiz v. Principi, 274 F.3d 1361, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55-56 (1990). REASONS FOR REMAND Right Shoulder At the September 2017 VA examination, the Veteran was also diagnosed with right rotator cuff tendonitis. He complained of gradual onset of right shoulder pain and limitation of the range of motion of his shoulders. The examiner did not offer an opinion on the etiology of the Veteran’s right shoulder injury. The examiner commented that there was no evidence of a right shoulder injury found in the records. Accordingly, the Board finds that the September 2017 VA opinion with regard to the Veteran’s claim for service connection for a right shoulder disability is not complete. Therefore, a remand for a new examination and medical opinion as to the etiology is necessary. 38 C.F.R. § 4.2. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis. The examiner is asked to opine as to whether it is as least as likely as not that the Veteran’s right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis had its onset in service or is otherwise the result of an incident in service. The examiner is also asked to opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis was caused or aggravated by his left shoulder disabilities. C. BOSELY Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Daniels, Associate Counsel