Sharp v. Shulkin

Bobby R. Sharp (plaintiff) served in the US Army. Fifty years later, Sharp filed an application for service-connected disability for arthritis and bursitis. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (defendant) regional office granted a service connection for arthritis in both shoulders at 10 percent disability each. Sharp was also granted service connection for bilateral hand, elbow, and forearm conditions without compensation. Sharp appealed the 10 percent evaluation to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the board). The board remanded the claim for a new VA medical examination. The examiner noted that Sharp reported functional loss during flareups including significant pain, loss of endurance and grip strength, and a decrease in fine motor skills. The examination report stated that the examiner could not properly evaluate the Sharp’s functional loss during flareup as the evaluation did not occur during a flareup. Per the information provided in the report, the examiner did not elicit information about the severity, duration, or effects of flareups from Sharp. The board granted an evaluation of slightly over 10 percent for the bilateral hand and forearm conditions but did not increase the 10 percent evaluation for Sharp’s elbows. Sharp appealed, claiming that under the relevant precedent, the examiner was required to estimate the amount of additional functional loss during flareups.