Citation Nr: 20005905 Decision Date: 01/28/20 Archive Date: 01/27/20 DOCKET NO. 16-13 262 DATE: January 28, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disorder, to include as secondary to the service-connected bilateral shoulder disability, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1999 to October 2004. This matter comes before the Board from a June 2013 rating that denied service connection for right hip strain. The Board remanded this matter in January 2019 for further development. Such has been completed and this matter is returned to the Board for further consideration. Service connection for right hip is remanded. In January 2019 the Board remanded this appeal to obtain an addendum opinion addressing whether a right hip disorder is directly related to a reported in-service injury and to a left shoulder disability, noting that prior VA examinations from May 2013 and October 2016 did not address these questions. Following remand, a VA examination was obtained in October 2019, providing unfavorable answers to these questions. However, the rationale for the opinions was essentially that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed right hip disorder. The Board notes that the requirement that there be a current disability is satisfied when the disability is shown at the time of the claim or during the pendency of the claim, even though the disability subsequently resolves. McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007). The record shows that during the course of the current appeal, the Veteran has been diagnosed with hip disabilities that include right hip strain, in VA examinations of May 2013 and October 2016. Elsewhere the records show other evidence of disability during the pendency of the appeal, including VA records from June 2014 giving a diagnosis of right hip arthralgia and noting symptoms of pain on the right hip with pain increased by movement and activities including walking and standing. The same diagnosis of right hip arthralgia is shown in subsequent records in February 2015, September 2015 and April 2016. Therefore, for the purpose of this appeal, the Veteran is considered to have current disabilities of his right hip, and the questions posed in the January 2019 remand must be addressed. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an addendum medical opinion from the October 2019 VA hip and thigh conditions examiner (or, if unavailable, from a medical professional with appropriate expertise) to determine the etiology of any diagnosed right hip disorder shown throughout the pendency of this appeal, which has been pending since the original claim was filed in January 2011. The examiner is requested to review the record and offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., probability of approximately 50 percent) that any diagnosed right hip disorder shown since the claim was filed in January 2011 is related to the Veteran’s military service or is caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral shoulder disability. (If a hip disorder is found to have been aggravated by the bilateral shoulder disability, the examiner should quantify the approximate degree of aggravation.) The examiner should consider the Veteran’s November 2016 statement regarding an injury during a physical fitness test in 1999, with STRs appearing to corroborate this history per a July 2004 Report of Medical History noting a history of leg/hip separation in 1999 (although this said the left leg was involved A complete rationale should be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Carol Eckart The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.