Citation Nr: 21026621 Decision Date: 05/03/21 Archive Date: 05/03/21 DOCKET NO. 14-32 224 DATE: May 3, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been received, reopening of the claim for service connection for congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1968 to May 1972. The Appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse and has been recognized as the substitute claimant in the Veteran's appeal. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an October 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A hearing was held in this matter before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in June 2017, a transcript of which has been associated with the record. The Board previously remanded the matter in March 2018 for additional development, and it has now returned for further appellate review. Regarding the Appellant's claim to reopen the issue of service connection for congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy, the Board observes that the Veteran was previously denied service connection for his claimed congestive heart disease in a June 2006 rating decision. The 2006 rating decision became final because the Veteran did not submit a Notice of Disagreement or new evidence in connection with the claims within the appeal period. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (b). Subsequently, several lay statements, VA treatment records, and Social Security Administration benefits records have been introduced into the claims file. Thus, the Board finds that new and material evidence has been received sufficient to reopen his previously denied claims. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (a); Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110, 117-18 (2010); Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510, 513 (1992). 1. Entitlement to service connection for left and right shoulder disorders is remanded. The Appellant is seeking service connection for left and right shoulder disorders. In the June 2017 hearing before the undersigned VLJ, the Veteran stated that he injured his left shoulder on the flight line while stationed in Thailand and again while playing sports on active duty service. A review of the record indicates that the RO has not obtained a complete copy of the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) or official military personnel file (OMPF) for his period of military service. Further the RO has not drafted a formal finding of unavailability for the record indicating all efforts to obtain those records have been exhausted and additional attempts would be futile. In fact, the RO has only made a limited request for records pertaining to Vietnam service. As the potential exists that the Veteran's service treatment records were mistakenly co-located with his OMPF, these records should be obtained. Since the missing service treatment records may be determinative as to the issue of entitlement to service connection for the above-referenced disabilities, the Board finds all indicated development to obtain those records must be accomplished. 2. Entitlement to service connection for congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy is remanded. The Board observes that in an October 2016 correspondence, the Veteran asserted that his claimed congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy may be etiologically related to exposure to jet fumes while on active duty service. As the record does not contain a medical opinion pertaining to this alternative theory of entitlement, the Board finds that remand is warranted to obtain a medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), or any other appropriate source, the Veteran's complete official military personnel file (OMPF) and service treatment records (STRs), to specifically include a PIES 050 request, to determine whether any additional service records are available. If any requested records are deemed unavailable, the record should be annotated to reflect such and the Appellant notified. 2. Obtain a medical opinion from an examiner of appropriate expertise to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed congestive heart disease with cardiomyopathy. The Veteran's electronic claims file must be made available to the examiner and the examiner must specify in the report that it was contemporaneously reviewed. All pertinent symptomatology and findings must be reported. The examiner should then provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or greater) that the claimed heart disability incurred in or was due to the Veteran's active duty. The examiner must specifically consider and discuss the Veteran's claimed exposure to hazardous chemicals, including jet fuel and other petroleum products. All rendered opinions must be accompanied by a thorough rationale. T. REYNOLDS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Gorum, 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.