Citation Nr: 21013953 Decision Date: 03/11/21 Archive Date: 03/11/21 DOCKET NO. 16-53 647 DATE: March 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for an inguinal hernia, to include the residuals of a left hip lipoma excision is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from August 1975 to August 1995. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in December 2019. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. Entitlement to service connection for an inguinal hernia, to include the residuals of a left hip lipoma excision is remanded. The Veteran contends that service connection is warranted for a hernia and the residuals of the removal of the claimed hernia. The Veteran contends that the hernia was incurred in or is otherwise related to active service. In Clemons v. Shinseki, the Court held that a claim is not necessarily limited in scope to a single or particular diagnosis, and should be construed based on the reasonable expectations of the non-expert, self-represented claimant and the evidence developed in processing that claim. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5-8 (2009). Essentially, the Court found that the scope of a claim cannot be limited by the terminology used by the lay Veteran, and instead must include any disability reasonably encompassed by (1) the description of the claim, (2) the described symptoms, and (3) any other relevant evidence of record. Id. In the Veteran’s original May 2012 claim, he sought service connection for a hiatal hernia. In the Veteran’s November 2013 Notice of Disagreement, he reported that he had a hernia that initially developed in 1982 or 1983 and had continued to grow. At the time of his December 2018 hearing he again reported that he had a growth of the left groin area that was treated in service and continued to grow larger, resulting in its removal in 2018. This matter was then before the Board in February 2020, at which time it was remanded to afford the Veteran a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed hernia. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in March 2020. The examiner indicated that the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of a hernia, but instead that the medical records show that he had an excision of a left hip soft tissue mass consistent with a lipoma in January 2018. In this case, the Board finds that in seeking service connection for a hernia, the Veteran described the symptoms as related to his in-service treatment for a growth in the left groin area. While the Veteran reported that he believed it was a hernia that was removed in January 2018, the examiner determined that it was in fact a lipoma of the left hip; which is in close proximity to the left groin area. The Board finds that given the description of the Veteran’s claim, his described symptoms, and the medical evidence of record, the Board finds that the Veteran’s claim for service connection for a hernia reasonably encompasses the residuals of a left hip lipoma excision. Accordingly, the issue of entitlement to service connection for a hernia has been expanded as noted above, consistent with Clemons. The Board notes that the March 2020 examiner did not offer an opinion as to whether the lipoma and any residuals were related to the Veteran’s active service, to include a documented in-service painful growth in the left groin area in September 1982. Accordingly, remand is warranted to obtain an addendum medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s left hip lipoma. The electronic claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion as to the following: a.) Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s left hip lipoma and any residuals related to the excision of the lipoma, were incurred in or otherwise related to the Veteran’s active service. The examiner must address the documented in-service painful growth in the left groin area in September 1982, and the Veteran’s reports that the growth continued to grow larger, resulting in its removal in January 2018. K. J. ALIBRANDO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Marsh II, 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.