Citation Nr: 18153557 Decision Date: 11/28/18 Archive Date: 11/27/18 DOCKET NO. 16-51 844 DATE: November 28, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder condition is granted. Entitlement to service connection for a low back condition is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s left shoulder condition was incurred in or caused by military service. 2. The Veteran’s low back condition was incurred in or caused by military service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2017). 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a low back condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Service Connection 1. Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder condition and a low back condition Service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Establishing service connection generally requires evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (2012); see also Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990). In a May 2013 contract examination, the Veteran was diagnosed with a lumbar spine degenerative disease and left shoulder degenerative joint disease. Thus, the Veteran has current low back and left shoulder disorders. The Veteran has stated that both his current lumbar spine disorder and his left shoulder disorder are related to his military service. With respect to the Veteran’s left shoulder disorder, the Board notes that the Veteran’s service treatment records document that he received emergency treatment in January 1972 after injuring his left arm while lifting weights. With respect to the Veteran’s lumbar spine disorder, the Veteran has stated that he injured his back in connection to jumps he made in service while on airborne status. The Veteran’s DD 214 indicates that he was decorated with a parachute badge, and that he completed basic airborne training while in service. In light of the above evidence and the Veteran's credible and consistent lay statements, the Board concedes the Veteran’s claimed in-service jumps while on airborne status. The remaining question is whether the Veteran's current lumbar spine disorder and left shoulder disorder are related to his active service. As noted above, the Veteran underwent a May 2013 VA contract examination, in which the contract examiner opined that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s low back degenerative disc disease and left shoulder degenerative disease were related to service. In support of that opinion, the contract examiner noted that he reviewed the Veteran’s claims file and attributed the Veteran’s disorders to injuries sustained in service, noting that past injuries to the low back and left shoulder can cause degenerative disease such as those the Veteran has currently been diagnosed with. The VA subsequently obtained additional VA opinions with respect to the Veteran’s lumbar spine and left shoulder disorder in September 2013. After a review of the evidence of record, the VA examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s lumbar spine degenerative disease and left shoulder degenerative joint disease were related to service. With respect to the Veteran’s lumbar spine disorder, the VA examiner noted that there was no treatment for the Veteran’s lumbar spine documented in the service treatment records, nor was there an in-service diagnosis of lumbar spine degenerative disease. With respect to the Veteran’s left shoulder disorder, the VA examiner noted that while there was documentation of in-service treatment for bilateral arm pain in January 1972, the medical evidence of record did not indicate any ongoing or chronic treatment for left shoulder pain, or an in-service diagnosis of left shoulder degenerative joint disease. Taking into account the positive and negative etiology opinions referenced above, the Board resolves all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and concludes that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current lumbar spine disorder and left shoulder disorder are related to his military service. It follows that service connection for a lumbar spine disorder and left shoulder disorder is warranted. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims stated in Wise that “[b]y requiring only an ‘approximate balance of positive and negative evidence’ to prove any issue material to a claim for veterans benefits, 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b), the nation, ‘in recognition of our debt to our veterans,’ has ‘taken upon itself the risk of error’ in awarding such benefits.” Wise v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 517, 531 (2014) (citing Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 54 (1990)). M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD B. Reed, Associate Counsel