Citation Nr: 19169014 Decision Date: 09/05/19 Archive Date: 09/05/19 DOCKET NO. 18-51 867 DATE: September 5, 2019 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for scoliosis of the spine, to include as secondary to the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s scoliosis of the spine is related to his service-connected disabilities. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving all reasonable doubts in the Veteran’s favor, the criteria for service connection for scoliosis of the spine, to include as secondary to the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from September 1966 to August 1969 with additional service in the Army Reserves. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2018 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2019, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of that hearing is associated with the claims file. Entitlement to service connection for scoliosis of the spine, to include as secondary to the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities. The Veteran contends that his scoliosis is related to his altered gait caused from his service-connected bilateral pes planus with degenerative arthritis of the fractured foot. See May 2019 Board hearing transcript, p. 9. Service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge from service when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service connection may be established on a secondary basis for a disability which is proximately due to or the result of service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show (1) that a current disability exists and (2) that the current disability was either (a) proximately caused by or (b) proximately aggravated by a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a), (b). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding a material issue, the benefit of the doubt in resolving each such issue shall be given to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); Ortiz v. Principi, 274 F.3d 1361, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2001); see 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Here, the Veteran has a current diagnosis of scoliosis. See June 2018 VA examination. The Veteran is also currently service-connected for bilateral pes planus with degenerative arthritis of the fractured right foot and degenerative arthritis of the right ankle. Therefore, the only remaining question for the Board to consider is whether the Veteran’s scoliosis was caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities. In this regard, in a May 2018 VA treatment note, the Veteran’s treating physician indicated that the Veteran’s right leg was run over in the military and, ever since, the Veteran has walked on the lateral aspect of his right foot, which has resulted in scoliosis. In an August 2018 VA treatment note, the Veteran’s VA physician again noted that the Veteran had a large right thoracic hump which seemed to be compensatory scoliosis for his right leg injury. Moreover, in October 2018, the Veteran’s VA physician indicated that he suspected the Veteran’s scoliosis is secondary to his abnormal gait. He explained that the Veteran had walked with a limp ever since his right lower extremity was crushed by a vehicle during his military service and, therefore, would support a finding of service-connection for the Veteran’s low back pain. This is compelling evidence in favor of the Veteran’s claim. The Veteran was also afforded a VA examination. The June 2018 VA examiner found that the Veteran’s MRI showed questionable T2 signal abnormality within the central thoracic cord at the T7, T8, and T9 levels, and given the more central location of the signal abnormality, these findings are likely due to syringohydromyelia, which is a condition in which a syrinx forms in the spinal cord. The examiner noted that possible symptoms include pain in the back and scoliosis, which usually appear gradually. Therefore, the examiner found that it was not possible to opine within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the Veteran’s scoliosis was caused by the foot and leg injury he sustained during service because any such predication would be mere speculation. The Board finds that the Veteran’s testimony regarding his continuing back pain and abnormal gait and balance since service is competent and credible. See May 2019 Board hearing transcript, pp. 6-9. Further, the Board assigns great probative weight to the consistent opinions, on three separate occasions, of the Veteran’s VA treating physician that the Veteran’s scoliosis is related to his service-connected foot injuries. Under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b), the benefit of the doubt is to be resolved in the claimant’s favor in cases where there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence in regard to a material issue. Here, the Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise and thus the benefit of the doubt must be resolved in the Veteran’s favor. As such, the claim of entitlement to service connection for scoliosis of the spine, as secondary to the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities, is granted. See Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55 (1990). MARJORIE A. AUER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Amanda Purcell, Associate Counsel 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.