Citation Nr: 23048908 Decision Date: 09/06/23 Archive Date: 09/06/23 DOCKET NO. 20-02 333A DATE: September 6, 2023 ORDER Service connection for residuals of an in-service right shoulder injury (right shoulder disability), diagnosed as right shoulder arthritis, status post surgery, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's right shoulder disability had its onset in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a right shoulder disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154(a), 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from August 1985 to August 1989 and from January 2005 to June 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2019 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 1. Service connection for a right shoulder disability. To establish service connection for a claimed disorder, the following criteria must be met: (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and current disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also, Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting in a disease or injury that is incurred in or aggravated by active-duty military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be established by credible lay evidence and medical evidence provided by the Veteran or otherwise. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Even in the absence of a diagnosed disability, evidence of functional limitations due to symptoms can meet this requirement. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Specifically, in Saunders v. Wilkie, the Federal Circuit found that the term "disability," as used in 38 U.S.C. § 1110, refers to the functional impairment of earning capacity, not the underlying cause of said disability, and held that pain alone can serve as a functional impairment and therefore qualify as a disability. The Veteran seeks service connection for a right shoulder disability, which he contends began in service and has been recurrent since that time. The Veteran asserts that his right shoulder is permanently damaged, and he does not have full range of motion without pain. See Notice of Disagreement, October 2019. Service treatment records show that in October 1986 the Veteran was seen for a right shoulder injury that was sustained while playing football. A radiology report showed a normal shoulder, and the impression was a grade 1 AC separation. During the December 2018 VA examination, the Veteran reported that he injured his right shoulder while playing football in service. He stated that he tore his right AC joint, and this was reinjured several times in service. The Veteran reported that he has flare ups of the right shoulder and right shoulder pain any time he lifts his arm above shoulder level. The Veteran reported that he must use his left hand to pull his right arm above level. The examiner stated that the Veteran did not have a chronic right shoulder disability but noted that the Veteran had abnormal or outside normal range of motion due to pain, which causes functional loss. Given the functional impairment imposed by the Veteran's right shoulder disability, the requirement for service connection that a current disability be present is satisfied. See Saunders, 886 F.3d at 1356. The Board finds that the Veteran is competent to report symptom onset and challenges he experiences as a result of his right shoulder disability. The Veteran's statements are entitled to probative weight, as they are internally consistent and consistent with other evidence of record showing that the Veteran reported right shoulder symptoms in and since service. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Board finds that this is especially so given that the Veteran reported the onset of his right shoulder symptoms in service in the context of seeking medical care. In its role as a finder of fact, the Board finds the Veteran's account of having a right shoulder disability during and since service credible. The Board acknowledges the negative nexus VA opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder disability. However, the Board finds this opinion inadequate as it impermissibly ignored the Veteran's competent, credible reports of right shoulder symptoms beginning in service and recurring since that time. See Dalton, 21 Vet. App. at 39. As the competent and credible lay and medical evidence shows that the Veteran's right shoulder disability had its onset in service, service connection is warranted. See Flynn v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 500, 503 (1994) (noting that "the element of cause and effect has been totally by-passed in favor of a simple temporal relationship between the incurrence of the disability and the period of active duty"); see also 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a) (Service connection connotes many factors but basically it means that the facts, shown by evidence, establish that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred coincident with service in the Armed Forces). STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Sara Leigh, Attorney Advisor 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.