United States Department of Labor 

Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

__________________________________________ 

R.U., Appellant 

and 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, 

CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION, 

El Paso, TX, Employer 

__________________________________________ 

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Docket No. 15-1349 

Issued: December 22, 2015 

Appearances: Case Submitted on the Record

Appellant, pro se 

Office of Solicitor, for the Director 

ORDER REMANDING CASE 

Before: 

CHRISTOPHER J. GODFREY, Chief Judge 

PATRICIA H. FITZGERALD, Deputy Chief Judge 

ALEC J. KOROMILAS, Alternate Judge 

On June 2, 2015 appellant filed a timely appeal from a January 23, 2015 decision of the 

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) denying his claim for a recurrence of 

disability due to his accepted left shoulder condition. The appeal was docketed as 15-1349. 

The Board has duly considered the matter and concludes that this case is not in posture 

for decision. The record forwarded to the Board includes evidence that appellant has two claims 

for left shoulder injuries, one that occurred on August 28, 1998 due to participating in defense 

tactics training at work (OWCP file number xxxxxx354), and one that occurred on February 11, 

2001 due to a fall at work (OWCP file number xxxxxx127).1 Appellant filed a claim 

(Form CA-2a) on May 29, 2014 alleging that he sustained a recurrence of disability on 

December 16, 2013 due to his August 28, 1998 and February 11, 2001 work injuries. On 

December 17, 2013 he underwent surgical repair of the rotator cuff of his left shoulder. In 

support of his recurrence of disability claim, appellant submitted a December 27, 2013 report in 

which Dr. Thomas Butler, an attending Board-certified internist, provided an opinion that 

 1

 File number xxxxxx354 is the claim that is presently before the Board. File number xxxxxx127 is not fully 

accessible. OWCP accepted that on August 28, 1998 appellant sustained a strain of the rotator cuff of his left 

shoulder. On his claim form for the February 11, 2001 injury, appellant indicated that he extended his left arm to 

brace his fall and felt a “pop” in his left shoulder upon landing. OWCP administratively accepted his February 11, 

2001 injury without formally identifying the specific accepted left shoulder condition. 
2

appellant’s surgery was necessitated by the 1998 and 2001 work injuries. By decision dated 

January 23, 2015, OWCP issued a decision, under file number xxxxxx354, denying his claim 

because he did not submit sufficient medical evidence to establish that he sustained a 

work-related recurrence of disability due to the August 28, 1998 work injury. 

As the two claims referenced above both relate to appellant’s left shoulder condition and 

he is claiming that he sustained a recurrence of disability due to his August 28, 1998 and 

February 11, 2001 work injuries, it is unclear whether the record before the Board, OWCP file 

number xxxxxx354, contains all the evidence that would be relevant to his recurrence of 

disability claim. Its procedures provide that cases should be combined where correct 

adjudication depends on cross-referencing between them.2 Hence, the Board finds that the case 

is not in posture for decision as the record before the Board is incomplete and would not permit 

an informed adjudication of the case by the Board. The case must therefore be remanded to 

OWCP to obtain its file number xxxxxx127, to be combined with OWCP file number 

xxxxxx354. After carrying out this case record reconstruction, OWCP shall issue an appropriate 

merit decision regarding appellant’s claim that he sustained a recurrence of disability on 

December 16, 2013 due to his August 28, 1998 and February 11, 2001 work injuries. 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the January 23, 2015 decision of the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs is set aside and the case remanded to OWCP for further 

proceedings consistent with this order of the Board. 

Issued: December 22, 2015 

Washington, DC 

 

 Christopher J. Godfrey, Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Patricia H. Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 

 Alec J. Koromilas, Alternate Judge 

 Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board 

 2

 Federal (FECA) Procedure Manual, Part 2 -- Claims, File Maintenance and Management, Chapter 2.400.8c 

(February 2000).