Citation Nr: 22048741 Decision Date: 08/26/22 Archive Date: 08/26/22 DOCKET NO. 19-31 280 DATE: August 26, 2022 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the petition to reopen the claim of service connection for a right shoulder disorder is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disorder is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder disorder as secondary to a right shoulder disorder is remanded. FINDING OF FACT The evidence associated with the claims file following the September 1982 denial of the appellant's claim for service connection for a right shoulder disorder is new and material. CONCLUSION OF LAW New and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of service connection for a right shoulder disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 5108, 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156, 20.1103. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant served on active duty for training in the Marine Corps Reserves from July 1978 to January 1979. On appeal is a July 2015 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) that denied service connection for a right shoulder disorder and a left shoulder disorder secondary to a right shoulder disorder. The appellant had previously sought service connection for the claimed right shoulder disorder, and his claim was denied in a September 1982 rating decision. The appellant did not appeal this rating decision and it became final. A virtual hearing was held in this matter in June 2022 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of these proceedings is associated with the appellant's claims file. The matter is now before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) for appellate review. New and Material Evidence VA may reopen and review a claim that has been previously denied if new and material evidence is submitted. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). New evidence is evidence not previously submitted to agency decision makers. Material evidence is evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last final denial of the claim sought to be reopened and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). The Board must review all evidence submitted by or on behalf of a claimant since the last final denial on any basis to determine whether a claim must be reopened. Evans v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 273 (1996). New and material evidence is not required as to each previously unproven element of a claim. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110 (2010). 1. Whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a right shoulder disorder The Board finds that new and material evidence regarding the appellant's right shoulder disorder has been received since the September 1982 denial, to include VA treatment records, lay statements, and testimony from the June 2022 Board hearing in this matter. This new evidence relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. The newly submitted evidence establishes that the appellant reported the initial injury of his right shoulder occurred during a period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) when he had a "bad fall" while on maneuvers and that this pre-existed the dislocation referenced in the September 1982 rating decision. He also reported he has had problems with his right shoulder (recurrent dislocations) ever since service, which was not shown in September 1982. Accordingly, the Board finds that the threshold for reopening the claim has been met, and the claim for service connection for a right shoulder disorder is reopened. REASONS FOR REMAND 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disorder is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder disorder as secondary to a right shoulder disorder is remanded. The Board finds that additional development is needed before a decision may be rendered on the two issues noted above. More specifically, the appellant must be afforded a VA examination to determine whether his right shoulder disorder is related to active service, and whether his left shoulder disorder is secondary to his right shoulder disorder. 38 U.S.C. § 5103(A)(d); McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 81 (2006). The Board also notes that it is not clear from the claims file whether all of the appellant's service treatment records and military personnel records, particularly as relates to his periods of ACDUTRA, are associated with his claims file. Moreover, reference was made to Social Security Administration records during the June 2022 Board Hearing in this matter and these must be obtained on remand as well. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Undertake appropriate efforts to obtain any relevant outstanding service treatment records and military personnel records, specifically to include the appellant's claimed treatment for a right shoulder injury during a period of ACDUTRA and records documenting the dates and nature of his periods of service, and associate those records with the claim file. 2. Undertake appropriate efforts to obtain the appellant's medical records from the Social Security Administration and associate those records with the claim file. 3. Schedule the appellant for a VA examination to determine the current diagnosis and etiology of his claimed right shoulder disorder and left shoulder disorder. The entire claims file, including this remand, must be made available to the examiner. For the right shoulder, the examiner must offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any diagnosed disorder began in service or is otherwise related to his service. For the left shoulder, the examiner must offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the appellant's claimed left shoulder disorder: Was caused by his claimed right shoulder disorder; or, Was aggravated by his claimed right shoulder disorder. In rendering a decision, the examiner must consider and specifically comment on the appellant's lay statements concerning an injury to his right shoulder in a fall during ACDUTRA. The medical reasons for accepting or rejecting the appellant's statements should be set forth in detail. A complete rationale must be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed. Caroline B. Fleming Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Bess, T. 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.