Citation Nr: 21029263 Decision Date: 05/13/21 Archive Date: 05/13/21 DOCKET NO. 13-11 479 DATE: May 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for left shoulder disability, to include shoulder strain, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder disability, to include osteoarthritis, tendinosis, impingement syndrome, and partial rotator cuff tear, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability, to include degenerative joint disease and enthesopathy, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability, to include degenerative joint disease, enthesopathy, and medial meniscus tear, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1974 to January 1977. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2011 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This case was last before the Board in July 2020, at which time it was remanded for further development. Unfortunately, although the Board regrets the additional delay, as discussed further below, the Board finds that another remand is necessary. Entitlement to service connection for left shoulder disability, to include shoulder strain; right shoulder disability, to include osteoarthritis, tendinosis, impingement syndrome, and partial rotator cuff tear; left knee disability, to include degenerative joint disease and enthesopathy; and right knee disability, to include degenerative joint disease, enthesopathy, and medial meniscus tear, are remanded. In a December 2018 statement, the Veteran stated that he had been receiving disability benefits since 2012 from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for the same claimed conditions. However, SSA records have not been associated with the file and it does not appear that VA has attempted to obtain the SSA records. As such, a remand is required to allow VA to request these records. See Hayes v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 67, 74 (1996) (finding VA required to obtain evidence from SSA, including decisions by administrative law judge). With respect to the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right shoulder disabilities, these issues were remanded for VA examinations with opinions. The October 2010 VA examiner found that such disabilities were not related to service and offered a rationale for such findings. However, service treatment records document that the Veteran suffered whiplash in the May 1976 automobile accident. Importantly, in the April 2021 brief, the Veteran's representative asserted that the Veteran's shoulder disabilities are a direct result of the documented whiplash. In support of this contention, the representative cited to three medical publications indicating a link between the rapid whipping back and forth in a car accident and shoulder injuries. Considering the new evidence, the Board finds that an addendum opinion is necessary to address whether the documented whiplash caused the Veteran's shoulder injuries, and to consider the additional evidence of record, including SSA records and the cited publications. With respect to the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities, the Board also remanded these issues to obtain a VA examination with opinion to determine whether these disabilities were directly related to service. An examination with opinion was done in October 2020. The examiner found that the claimed conditions were not related to service. However, in the rationale, the examiner noted that there was no documented injury to either knee in the 1976 accident. However, service treatment records showed that the Veteran reported that he was hit by a car in the right leg in May 1976. Given that the examiner did not address this incident, and since the examiner did not have the opportunity to review the SSA records, the Board finds that an addendum opinion is necessary. Moreover in the April 2021 brief, the Veteran' representative asserted that such disabilities were secondary to the Veteran's low back disability with associated radiculopathy of the lower extremities. The Veteran's representative cited to two medical publications in support of this contention. Accordingly, the Board finds that the VA addendum opinion should also address whether the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are proximately due to or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disc disease with associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy. Given the need to remand, additional VA clinical records should be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from November 2020 to the present. 2. Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) and request that SSA provide the Veteran's complete SSA records, including any administrative decision(s) on his application for SSA disability benefits and all underlying medical records. Any negative response must be associated with the record. 3. Obtain an addendum opinion with respect to the Veteran's left and right shoulder disabilities from the October 2020 VA examiner or another appropriate clinician. The examiner must consider the additional evidence of record, including SSA records and the cited publications in the April 2021 brief, and determine whether such evidence would warrant any change in the prior October 2020 opinion concerning whether the Veteran's left and right shoulder disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his active duty service. The examiner must explicitly address the contention that the Veteran's shoulder disabilities are a direct result of the documented May 1976 whiplash and discuss the cited medical publications listed in the April 2021 brief indicating a link between whiplash and shoulder injuries. 4. Obtain an addendum opinion with respect to the Veteran's left and right disabilities from the October 2020 VA examiner or another appropriate clinician. The examiner must opine whether the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his active duty service, to include the documented December 1974 right knee pain and May 1976 injury to right leg. The examiner must explicitly consider that the Veteran reported that his right leg was hit by a car in May 1976. The examiner must also opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's currently diagnosed left and right knee disabilities are caused or aggravated (any incremental increase regardless of permanence) by the service-connected lumbar spine disability with associated bilateral radiculopathy of the lower extremities, to include any impaired gait caused by such disabilities. A rationale for the opinions must be provided. In proffering the opinions, the examiner must consider the additional evidence of record, including SSA records and the cited publications in the April 2021 brief. L.M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J.N. Moats 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.