Citation Nr: 20006497 Decision Date: 01/28/20 Archive Date: 01/27/20 DOCKET NO. 15-42 259 DATE: January 28, 2020 ORDER Service connection for right shoulder disability is denied. FINDING OF FACT The weight of the evidence is against find the Veteran’s current right shoulder disability is related to his service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right shoulder disability have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from July 1981 to July 1985. 1. Service connection for right shoulder disability The Veteran contends his right shoulder disability is due to an in-service bicycle accident. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). To establish entitlement to service-connected compensation benefits, a Veteran must show: “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service” – also known as the “nexus” requirement. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010). The Board must consider all the evidence of record and make appropriate determinations of competence, credibility, and weight. See Washington v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 362, 368 (2005). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any material issue, all reasonable doubt is resolved in favor of the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. The Veteran is competent to describe symptoms observable to his senses, but he is not competent to diagnose a shoulder disability or determine its cause as this requires specialized medical training. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Based on the evidence, the Board finds the criteria for service connection for right shoulder disability have not been met. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. First, the Veteran has a current disability. The October 2019 VA examiner diagnosed right shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, and rotator cuff tear. A March 2010 MRI first revealed the diagnoses. Thus, the first element of service connection is met. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366. Next, the Veteran was involved in an accident in service when he was hit by a bicyclist. Service treatment records show he sustained a head injury and reported headaches and backaches in 1982. The Veteran asserts that he also injured his right shoulder when he landed on it after the collision with the cyclist. However, service treatment records do not mention right shoulder complaints, treatment, or diagnosis. The Veteran has not reported any other right shoulder injury during his service. While there is not a specific right shoulder diagnosis in service, there is an accident with injuries to the upper body, which generally satisfies the second element of service connection. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366. Finally, however, the evidence does not show a nexus between the in-service accident and the current disability. As noted, there was no right shoulder disability noted in service. Similarly, the Veteran continued to complain of headaches, dizziness, and backaches during the December 1985 post-service VA examination but made no complaints of his shoulder. The examination of the shoulders was normal. Then, in April 1989, after a January 1988 automobile accident, a private treating provider assessed the Veteran for complaints of headache, neck pain and stiffness, right shoulder pain, and upper and lower back pain. Examinations from the Veteran’s service in the National Guard, including in March 1995 and January 2000, showed normal upper extremities. The October 2019 VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s right shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, and rotator cuff tear were less likely than not related to his service. The examiner explained that there is no documentation to support that the shoulder injury was caused by or incurred during his service, but instead, the documentation of the accident, the post-accident follow-up, and the initial disability examination all note normal shoulder and do not note any complaints of shoulder pain or any abrasions of the shoulder. The examiner further noted that because the injury occurred in 1982 and the MRI scan of the right shoulder was not done until 27 years later, it is difficult to ascertain any specifics from that MRI scan. Finally, the examiner explained that shoulder tendonitis, impingement syndrome, and rotator cuff tear are common diagnoses in 56-year-old men. The Board finds the VA examiner’s opinion highly probative as the examiner provided detailed rationale, which is consistent with the other evidence of record. Specifically, the lack of complaints of shoulder problems in service and after and the intervening automobile accident also weigh against a finding of nexus to service. The Board is grateful for the Veteran’s honorable service, and this decision is not meant to detract from that service. However, given the record before it, the Board finds that evidence in this case does not reach the level of equipoise. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a). Without the nexus element, the criteria for service connection for right shoulder disability have not been met. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366. A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A.P. Armstrong, Counsel 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.