Citation Nr: 20004682 Decision Date: 01/21/20 Archive Date: 01/21/20 DOCKET NO. 16-13 072 DATE: January 21, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is in at least relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle, was incurred in or otherwise related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle, are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1980 to February 1984. This appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) arose from a November 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). See November 2014 Notice of Disagreement (NOD); March 2016 Statement of the Case (SOC); March 2016 Substantive Appeal (VA Form 9). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in a November 2019 hearing. See November 2019 Hearing transcript. Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle. The Veteran asserts entitlement to service connection for his right ankle based on in service right ankle injuries from marching and then during a parachute jump. January 2014 VA Form 21-4138; November 2014 NOD; March 2016 VA Form 9; November 2019 Hearing transcript. Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection is established when there is competent, credible evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury or disease, and (3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a), (d). 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(d). In determining whether service connection is warranted for a disability, VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, with the Veteran prevailing in either event, or whether a preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, in which case the claim is denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; see also Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53-56 (1990). The Board does not dispute that the Veteran has a current right ankle disability or that he injured his right ankle during service. The evidence shows that the Veteran has right ankle degenerative joint disease. January 2006 Private treatment evidence; October 2014 VA examination. Service records show that the Veteran had duties as a parachutist and treatment for his right ankle during service. See May 1982 Orders from the Department of the Army; March 1981 Service treatment record; July 1982 Service treatment record. The question remaining for the Board is whether the Veteran’s current right ankle disability was incurred in or otherwise related to service. After careful and thorough consideration of the evidence, the Board finds that the evidence is in at least relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle, was incurred in or otherwise related to service. As noted above, service treatment records show that the Veteran sought treatment for his right ankle during service. March 1981 Service treatment record; July 1982 Service treatment record. While an right ankle x-ray showed no fracture, the Veteran had related to his service treatment provider that he had ankle sprains many times. March 1981 Service treatment record; July 1982 Service treatment record. The Veteran’s private treatment provider M T, M.D., opined that the Veteran’s current right ankle osteoarthritis is related to his in service injuries. Dr. M T opined that the Veteran’s repetitive jumps out of airplanes during service “could” have contributed to his current right ankle arthritis. April 2014 Private treatment evidence. Dr. M T later clarified that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s current ankle disability is related to his in service injuries. March 2015 Correspondence. Dr. M T is a medical professional qualified to opined on the cause of the Veteran’s current right ankle disorder and is a treatment provider for the Veteran’s ankle disabilities. The Board finds Dr. M T’s opinions to be probative. The Board recognizes that the October 2014 VA examiner opined the Veteran’s current right ankle disorder is less likely than not related to service. October 2014 VA examination. The VA examiner’s rationale is that the Veteran had an acute, and not chronic, right ankle injury during service. Id. The VA examiner also commented that the earliest treatment for his right ankle after separation was in February 2012. See id. However, the VA examiner did not discuss how the Veteran’s report to his service treatment provider that he had right sprained ankle problems “many times” was considered. Moreover, the claims file shows that the earliest private treatment for his right ankle was in January 2006, not 2012, and that the Veteran reported the condition existed for years. See January 2006 Private treatment evidence. The VA examiner also did not have the benefit of the Veteran’s testimony that he had continued right ankle pain since service, but did not seek treatment at that time due to lack of medical insurance or finances. November 2019 Hearing transcript. The Board finds that the October 2014 VA examiner’s opinion is still probative as she is a medical professional qualified to opine on the cause of the Veteran’s current right ankle disability, had the opportunity to examine the Veteran, and provided a detailed report. The VA examiner’s opinion raises a reasonable doubt as to whether the Veteran’s current right ankle disorder was incurred in or otherwise related to service. In resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that the evidence supports that the Veteran’s current right ankle disorder was incurred in or otherwise related to service. Accordingly, entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder, to include osteoarthritis of the right ankle, is warranted. DEBORAH W. SINGLETON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Department of Veterans Affairs 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.