Citation Nr: 21003308 Decision Date: 01/21/21 Archive Date: 01/21/21 DOCKET NO. 12-10 126 DATE: January 21, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for numbness of the upper and lower extremities is remanded. Service connection for a cervical spine disorder is remanded. Service connection for dizziness is remanded. A rating higher than 20 percent for a left shoulder disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active duty service from January 1973 to November 1983. These matters come to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran presented testimony at a personal hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in June 2014. A transcript is of record. The claims were last before the Board in August 2019, when the Board denied them. The Veteran appealed the Board’s August 2019 decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In a July 2020 Joint Motion for Partial Remand, the parties requested that the Court vacate the August 2019 Board decision that denied service connection for a cervical spine disorder, numbness of the upper and lower extremities, and dizziness, and entitlement to a rating higher than 20 percent for a left shoulder disorder. In a July 2020 Order, the Court granted the Joint Motion. 1. Service connection for numbness of the upper and lower extremities is remanded. 2. Service connection for a cervical spine disorder is remanded. The Joint Motion remanded these claims for the Board to address whether the February 2019 VA opinion complied with the terms of the 2018 remand that requested an addendum opinion as to whether the cervical spine/neck disorder and/or numbness of the upper and lower extremities were aggravated by the Veteran’s service-connected thoracic spine condition. Another addendum opinion is needed to better address the question of aggravation. 3. Service connection for dizziness is remanded. This claim is inextricably intertwined with the claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder and adjudication will be deferred. 4. A rating higher than 20 percent for a left shoulder disability is remanded. The Joint Motion determined that the Board shall obtain a new VA medical examination of the Veteran’s left shoulder that complies with Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26, 34-36 (2017). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Return the claims file to the VA examiner who provided the February 2019 addendum opinion on the claims for a cervical spine disorder and numbness of the upper and lower extremities. If that examiner is not available, the opinion should be provided by another qualified VA examiner. The examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., probability of 50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s cervical spine disorder and/or any disability manifested by upper or lower extremity numbness was worsened beyond the natural progression (aggravated) by the thoracic spine disability. The examiner must explain why or why not. If aggravation is found, the examiner should attempt to quantify the degree of worsening above the baseline level of disability. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his service-connected left shoulder disability. The claims file should be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. All indicated tests should be conducted and the results reported. Range of motion testing should be undertaken for each of the Veteran’s shoulders and should be tested actively and passively, in weight bearing, and after repetitive use. The examiner should state whether there is likely to be additional range of motion loss in each shoulder due to flare-ups and due to pain, weakness, fatigability, or incoordination. If so, the examiner is asked to describe the additional loss, in degrees, if possible. If the examiner is unable to conduct the required testing or concludes that the required testing is not necessary in this case, he or she should clearly explain why that is so. If it is not possible to provide a specific measurement, or an opinion regarding flare-ups, symptoms, or functional impairment without speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge (no one could respond given medical science and the known facts), a deficiency in the record (additional facts are required), or the examiner (does not have the knowledge or training). 3. If the claims remain denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case. K. A. BANFIELD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Van Wambeke, 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.