Citation Nr: 18154240
Decision Date: 11/29/18	Archive Date: 11/29/18

DOCKET NO. 18-44 376
DATE:	November 29, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for a deviated nasal septum is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s deviated nasal septum is related to his service. 
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Service connection for a deviated nasal septum is warranted.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran honorably served on active duty from November 1959 to August 1963.  This matter is before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) from an April 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. 
1. Entitlement to service connection for a deviated nasal septum.
I. Legal Criteria
Service connection may be granted for a disability due to a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service.  38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304.  Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service.  38 C.F.R. § 3.303. 
To substantiate a claim of service connection there must be evidence of: (1) a present disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service.  Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
II. Factual Background & Analysis 
The Veteran contends that he suffered an open displaced fracture of his nasal bones while serving on active duty sometime in the fall of 1961 or 1962. See August 2018 Correspondence. The Veteran had surgery performed immediately following the injury.  No such incident or any treatment for a nasal injury is contained in the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs). 
However, the Veteran’s lay statements describe the injury and the healing process in detail.  The Veteran can recall the sound the physician made when the bandages were removed from his face and nose.  The Veteran can recall the name of the marine whose elbow caused his facial injuries and the name of the commanding officer at the base while he was recovering post-surgery. 
Further, the evidence also reflects that the Veteran has had persisting symptoms since his time in service, including difficulty breathing.  A March 2016 Physician’s Note from a private treating physician indicates that the Veteran suffers from septal spurs in the left nostril and a septum that is deviated to the right.  The note also reflects that the Veteran has suffered from nasal congestion for 50 years.  The private treating physician attributes the Veteran’s current nasal congestion to nasal trauma incurred in service and resultant nasal surgery. 
The Veteran is competent to provide evidence regarding the persistence of his deviated nasal symptoms, when he first noticed them, and the circumstances of his in-service treatment, because he has first-hand experience and these are observable by the Veteran.  See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (noting that lay statements are competent evidence as to observable features or symptoms of an injury or illness but are not competent as to complex medical questions).
While the service treatment records do not contain a record of treatment for a deviated nasal septum, the Veteran has provided competent and credible evidence that supports that he had symptoms that incurred during his active military service and that they have persisted after separation.
(Continued on the next page)
 
In light of the above, the Board finds that direct service connection for a deviated nasal septum is warranted.  The Veteran’s competent and credible statements support a finding that he sustained the claimed injury in service.  Competent and credible private treatment records reflect that the Veteran still suffers from symptoms and residuals resulting from the in-service injury, event or occurrence.  Accordingly, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence supports the claim and entitlement to service connection for a deviated nasal septum is granted.  38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990).
 
L. BARSTOW
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	K. McKone, Law Clerk