Citation Nr: 20022598 Decision Date: 04/01/20 Archive Date: 04/01/20 DOCKET NO. 17-06 769 DATE: April 1, 2020 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the petition to reopen the claim of service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis, is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis, is remanded. FINDING OF FACT The evidence associated with the claims file following the August 1984 denial of the Veteran’s claim for service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis, is new and material. CONCLUSION OF LAW New and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156, 20.1103. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Navy from September 1966 to January 1967 and from March 1967 to October 1968; and in the Army from January 1976 to October 1993. One month after his discharge from service, in November 1993, the Veteran filed his initial claim for service connection for multiple conditions that included a right shoulder disorder. In a March 1994 rating decision, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied the claim. Years later, in December 2010, the Veteran filed a claim for right shoulder degenerative arthritis as secondary to thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease. In an August 2011 rating decision, the RO denied service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease. The Veteran did not appeal the August 2011 rating decision, and it became final. There were no further filings in the case regarding the Veteran’s right shoulder until November 2015, when he filed a fully developed claim seeking to reopen the claim of service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease. In a March 2016 rating decision, the RO, among other things, denied reopening a previously denied claim of service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease. In his substantive appeal, the Veteran requested a hearing before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) and expanded his claim to include as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. A Board hearing was held in this matter in February 2020 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge, and a transcript of the proceedings is associated with the claims file. New and Material Evidence VA may reopen and review a claim that has been previously denied if new and material evidence is submitted. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). New evidence is evidence not previously submitted to agency decision makers. Material evidence is evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last final denial of the claim sought to be reopened and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). The Board must review all evidence submitted by or on behalf of a claimant since the last final denial on any basis to determine whether a claim must be reopened. Evans v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 273 (1996). New and material evidence is not required as to each previously unproven element of a claim. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110 (2010). 1. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. The Board finds that new and material evidence regarding the Veteran’s right shoulder disorder has been received since the August 2011 denial, to include VA treatment records from Columbia VAMC; testimony from the Veteran given at the February 2020 Board hearing in this matter; and, additional lay evidence regarding the Veteran’s claimed right shoulder degenerative joint disease. This new evidence relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim—namely, that his right shoulder degenerative joint disease may be secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. Accordingly, the Board finds that the threshold for reopening the claim has been met, and the claim for service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine arthritis, is reopened. REASONS FOR REMAND 2. Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis, is remanded. The Board finds that additional evidentiary development is needed before the Board can render a decision on the merits of the claim for service connection for right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. The Board notes that in light of the newly submitted evidence noted above (VA treatment records from Columbia VAMC and the Veteran’s testimony at the February 2020 Board hearing in this matter), a VA examination must be obtained that addresses service connection on a direct and secondary basis. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Obtain a VA examination and opinion from an appropriate examiner to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s right shoulder degenerative joint disease, to include as secondary to his service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. The claims folder (including a copy of this remand) must be provided to and reviewed by the examiner as part of the examination. All indicated tests should be accomplished and all clinical findings reported in detail. The examiner must provide well-reasoned responses as to each of the following: a) Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed right shoulder disorder had its onset in service, within one year of service separation, or is otherwise related to active duty service. b) Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed right shoulder disorder was caused by the Veteran’s service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. c) Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed right shoulder disorder was aggravated by the Veteran’s service-connected lumbar spine arthritis. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report his symptoms and history and that such reports must be acknowledged and considered in formulating any opinion. If his reports are discounted, the examiner should provide a reason for doing so. A complete rationale must be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resort to speculation, he or she must explain why this is so and whether there is additional evidence that would permit the opinion to be provided. Caroline B. Fleming Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Jiggetts, Associate 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.