Citation Nr: 22018470 Decision Date: 03/29/22 Archive Date: 03/29/22 DOCKET NO. 17-55 984A DATE: March 29, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder bicipital tendonitis is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's right shoulder bicipital tendonitis had its onset during active service and continued. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right shoulder bicipital tendonitis are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service in the United States Navy from January 1979 to January 1983. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2017 rating decision of the VA Regional Office (RO). The issue was previously before the Board in May 2020. The Board remanded the issue for RO review of additional evidence, including VA treatment records and an August 2018 VA examination, that had been submitted after the issuance of the September 2017 statement of the case (SOC). In June 2020, a supplemental statement of the cases (SSOC) addressing the said evidence. The Board finds that there has been substantial compliance with the remand directives. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 146-47 (1999). Entitlement to service connection for right shoulder bicipital tendonitis is granted. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. If there is no showing of a resulting chronic condition during service, then a showing of continuity of symptomatology after service is required to support a finding of chronicity for certain diseases. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303 (a), (b), 3.309(a); Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (d). To establish service connection for the claimed disorder, there must be (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999); Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009). The Board must determine the value of all evidence submitted, including lay and medical evidence. Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331(Fed. Cir. 2006). The evaluation of evidence generally involves a three-step inquiry. First, the Board must determine whether the evidence comes from a "competent" source. The Board must then determine if the evidence is credible or worthy of belief. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 308 (2007). The third step of this inquiry requires the Board to weigh the probative value of the evidence considering the entirety of the record. The standard of proof to be applied in decisions on claims for veterans' benefits is outlined in 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (2012). The Veteran contends that he has a right shoulder disorder that was incurred in service and continued. In a December 2017 statement, the Veteran reported having had in-service damage to both shoulders from carrying heavy equipment on shoulders. The right shoulder has bothered him, and he did not realize how much damage since he had been using analgesic creams and TENS units to control the pain. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) show numerous complaints in service of painful right shoulder and diagnoses of tendonitis and bicipital tendonitis. In February 2017, the Veteran was afforded a Shoulder and Arm Conditions examination. The examiner diagnosed acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tear, rotator cuff tendonitis, and bicipital tendonitis. The examiner found a negative nexus to service and explained that The Veteran was diagnosed and treated for bicipital tendonitis of the right shoulder from approximately April 1980-fall 1981. In November 1982, there was no indication of any shoulder complaints during his separation physical exam, and during a C&P examination in August 1983 for shoulder condition claim, the documented physical exam showed a normal exam of the right shoulder to include normal imaging findings, and no diagnosis of a chronic right shoulder condition was given. The first entry found in available medical records post-discharge starting in 2003 for right shoulder complaints was not until Oct 2015, which was approximately 32 years after his discharge from active duty and more than 34 years from last documented right shoulder complaint while on active duty. It is more likely than not that the diagnoses of right shoulder RC tear/tendinosis, biceps tear, and AC joint arthropathy are due to occupational history after discharge from active duty and the normal aging process. As you get older, your risk of a rotator cuff injury increases. Rotator cuff tears are most common in people older than 40. The Board finds the examination inconclusive as the examiner failed to address the Veteran's credible contention of continuity since service and his self-medicating for relief. Moreover, he based his findings on the absence of post-service complaints of a right shoulder disorder until many years after service. The Board notes that the lack of contemporaneous medical records is not an "absolute bar" to service connection. Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F. 3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2006). The Veteran is competent to report continuous right shoulder symptoms in the years since service. Buchanan, 451 F.3d 1331, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2006). Also, there is no evidence that explicitly contradicts his reports. Therefore, the Board concludes that the Veteran's reports of continuous right shoulder symptoms in the years since service are credible. In sum, the evidence reflects the Veteran's numerous complaints in service of right shoulder pain and his diagnosis therein of bicipital tendonitis and his reports of continuous symptoms in the years following service. The Veteran has been diagnosed with a current right shoulder bicipital tendonitis. The evidence is wanting that the current right shoulder bicipital tendonitis did not have its onset in service and continued. The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether this disability had its onset in service. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. See also Buchanan, 451 F.3d at 1335 ("[N]othing in the regulatory or statutory provisions [relating to evidence to be considered] require both medical and competent lay evidence; rather, they make clear that competent lay evidence can be sufficient in and of itself"). Thus, service connection for a right shoulder bicipital tendonitis is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. D. Martz Ames Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N. Stevens, 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.