Citation Nr: 22037481 Decision Date: 06/29/22 Archive Date: 06/29/22 DOCKET NO. 17-45 707 DATE: June 29, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right-sided brachial neuritis (C5-6) with shoulder pain is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for fatty liver disease, to include as related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus type 2 (diabetes), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service in the United States Marine Corps from September 1970 to August 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) issued in November 2014 and October 2017; this case is in VA's legacy appeals system. In January 2022, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of that hearing is of record. Because these issues had been appealed separately, they were originally docketed separately before the Board. However, in each appeal lane the Veteran requested a Board hearing and testimony on both issues was taken at the same January 2022 Board hearing. The appeal lanes have therefore been merged and the earlier docket number assigned to both issues. 1. Entitlement to service connection for right-sided brachial neuritis (C5-6) with shoulder pain The Veteran has described at least one injury to his right shoulder during service and ongoing symptoms since that time, both of which he is competent to report. The record also shows that he suffered a post-service work-related electrocution that may have contributed to his current right shoulder condition. The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of service connection for right-sided brachial neuritis with shoulder pain because no VA examiner has opined whether this condition began during service or is related to any in-service injury, event, or disease. A remand is necessary to provide a VA examination and obtain the required opinions. 2. Entitlement to service connection for fatty liver disease The Veteran originally claimed that his fatty liver disease was caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. In October 2017, a VA examiner provided a negative opinion on this issue. However, part of the rationale for this opinion was that the Veteran had other known risk factors for fatty liver disease, including diabetes. The Veteran's diabetes is service connected, which reasonably raises the possibility that the Veteran's fatty liver disease is secondary to a service-connected disability. The Veteran later explicitly raised this claim at his January 2022 Board hearing. The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of service connection for fatty liver diseaser because no VA examiner has opined whether this was proximately due to or aggravated beyond its natural progression by, his service-connected diabetes. A remand is necessary to obtain the required opinions. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any private medical professionals who have treated his right shoulder pain, to include the medical professional consulted after his work-related electrocution. Make two requests for the authorized records from any identified treatment provider unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his claimed right sided brachial neuritis with shoulder pain. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Is right sided brachial neuritis at least as likely as not related to service, including claimed fall onto his neck and right shoulder while wearing heavy radio equipment? The examiner should discuss the following evidence: a. Veteran's lay statements regarding his in-service injury and ongoing symptoms. b. Veteran's 2011 work-related electrocution. Provide a rationale to support the opinion. In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of his in-service injury and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's fatty liver disease is at least as likely as not proximately due to, or aggravated beyond its natural progression by, service-connected diabetes mellitus, type 2. 3. Readjudicate the Veteran's claims. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Zimmerman, Micah 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.