Citation Nr: 21072883 Decision Date: 12/06/21 Archive Date: 12/06/21 DOCKET NO. 17-27 733 DATE: December 6, 2021 REMAND Entitlement to service connection for a recurrent right shoulder disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had certified active service from February 1981 to May 1981; from May 1983 to August 1983; from April 2000 to August 2001; from June 2003 to June 2005; and from May 2009 to September 2009. She had additional duty with the Air Force Reserve. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a recurrent right shoulder disability is remanded. Unfortunately, another remand is required in this case. Although the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) sincerely regrets the additional delay, it is necessary to ensure that there is a complete record upon which to decide the claim. The Veteran served in the Air Force Reserve from June 2005 to March 2013. The Veteran's complete periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with the Air Force Reserve have not been verified and the service treatment records associated with that duty have not been requested for incorporation into the record. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should obtain all relevant service, VA, and private treatment records which could potentially be helpful in resolving the claim. Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 78 (1990); Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). Service connection may be granted for disability which is proximately due to or the result of a service connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Service connection shall be granted on a secondary basis under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a) where it is demonstrated that a service connected disorder has aggravated a nonservice connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). Service connection has been established for left (minor) rotator cuff strain with impingement syndrome, sacroiliac joint injury with piriformis syndrome, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy, and left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy. The report of a December 2020 shoulder evaluation conducted for VA states that the Veteran was diagnosed with right shoulder strain residuals. The examiner commented that: "review of the Veteran's reported histories regarding the period of onset and manner of injury pertaining to the right shoulder does not support an association between the left shoulder and the right shoulder;" "Veteran is right handed and it would be unlikely that the right shoulder condition is due to compensation from the left shoulder;" "the stated medical histories does not support onset of right shoulder symptoms was due to the service connected left shoulder condition;" "review of the Veteran's medical treatment records does not show the right shoulder was permanently worsened due to the Veteran's service connected left shoulder condition;" "Veteran's treatment records has not shown worsening of the right shoulder is due to the left shoulder;" and "based on this Veteran's right shoulder strain was less likely than not aggravated beyond natural progression by the Veteran's left rotator, rotator cuff strain with impingement syndrome, non-dominant." The examiner did not address the relationship, if any, between the diagnosed right shoulder disability and the service connected disabilities other than the left shoulder disability. The Board observes that the doctor stated that the left shoulder did not permanently aggravate the right shoulder disability. Permanence of any increase in severity of the nonservice connected disability is not a required finding under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. In light of the aforementioned deficiencies, the Board finds that the examination report is of limited probative value. VA's duty to assist includes, in appropriate cases, the duty to conduct a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination which is accurate and fully descriptive. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991). When VA undertakes to obtain an evaluation, it must ensure that the evaluation is adequate. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 312 (2007). Further VA shoulder evaluation is needed. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) or the appropriate service entity and request verification of the Veteran's complete periods of active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty for training with the Air Force Reserve for the period from June 2005 to March 2013 and forward all available service treatment and personnel records associated with the Veteran's service for incorporation into the record. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA shoulder examination conducted by an appropriate physician to assist in determining the nature and etiology of the claimed recurrent shoulder disability and any relationship to active service and the service connected disabilities. The examiner must review the record and should note that review in the report. A rationale for all opinions should be provided. The examiner should: (a) Diagnose all right shoulder disabilities found. (b) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any identified recurrent right shoulder disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service, including the Veteran's subjective history of in service right shoulder trauma. (c) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any recurrent right shoulder disability is due to or the result of the left shoulder disability and the other service connected disabilities. (d) Opine whether it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any recurrent right shoulder disability has been aggravated (increased in severity beyond the natural progression of the disorder) by the left shoulder disability and the other service-connected disabilities. J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Macek, M. A. 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.