Citation Nr: 20041582 Decision Date: 06/18/20 Archive Date: 06/18/20 DOCKET NO. 17-41 947 DATE: June 18, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disability is granted. FINDING OF FACT A right ankle disability had its onset during the Veteran’s active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW A right ankle disability was incurred in active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1131 (2018); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active military service from September 1996 to July 2006. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision issued by the VA Regional Office (RO). In connection with this appeal, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in April 2020. Service Connection – Right Ankle Disability The Veteran has contended that her right ankle disability is related to her active service. Specifically, she reported that she injured her right ankle during service and that she has experienced instability in her right ankle since that time. Service treatment records confirmed that the Veteran injured her right ankle. Initially, the Veteran twisted her right ankle after stepping in a hole in July 1997. In August 2004, she inverted and sprained her right ankle. An August 2004 X-ray detected marked tissue swelling consistent with ligamentous injury. In June 2005, the Veteran twisted her right ankle. A June 2005 X-ray revealed soft tissue trauma to the right ankle. At her January 2006 Medical Board Evaluation (MBE), the Veteran reported that her right ankle was weaker and occasionally bothered her. The MEB examiner noted that the Veteran had some laxity of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and chronic right ankle sprain. A review of post-service VA treatment records shows that the Veteran complained of right ankle instability in August 2006 and within one year following her separation from service. Subsequently, she suffered an inversion injury while hiking in June 2014 and sprained her right ankle. Nonetheless, the Veteran has reported that she first experienced symptoms associated with a right ankle disability while in active service and that those symptoms have continued since service. Heuer v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 379 (1995); Falzone v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 398 (1995); Caldwell v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 466 (1991). Moreover, the Board finds the Veteran to be credible in that respect. In June 2015, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination. She was diagnosed with lateral collateral ligament sprain. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s right ankle disability was at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by her active service. The examiner stated that there was significant laxity of the joint noted upon the Veteran’s separation. The Veteran was provided an additional VA examination in August 2015. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s right ankle disability was less as likely as not incurred in or caused by her active service. Although the Veteran had an in-service right ankle sprain, the examiner stated that it did not cause a chronic post-service condition. The examiner found no visits for a right ankle condition from 2006 to 2014. Instead, the examiner observed that the Veteran incurred ligament tears in her right ankle in 2014. Therefore, the examiner concluded that ligamentous tears in 2014 were not incurred during the Veteran’s active service. The Board finds that the August 2014 VA examination is inadequate for adjudication purposes. Specifically, the August 2014 VA examiner did not consider all STR notations of injury to the Veteran’s right ankle. Furthermore, the examiner did not address the Veteran’s complaint of right ankle instability within one year following her active service. As the opinion is inadequate, it cannot serve as the basis of a denial of entitlement to service connection. Additionally, the Board notes that lay evidence can be competent and sufficient to establish a diagnosis of a condition when (1) a layperson is competent to identify the medical condition, (2) the layperson is reporting a contemporaneous medical diagnosis, or (3) lay testimony describing symptoms at the time supports a later diagnosis by a medical professional. In fact, competent medical evidence is not necessarily required when the determinative issue involves either medical etiology or a medical diagnosis. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007); Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2006). As noted above, the Veteran is competent to identify symptoms related to a right ankle disability and report on the chronicity of symptomatology since active service. Moreover, her statements have been found credible. In sum, the Veteran has competently and credibly reported that her right ankle disability had its onset during her active service and has continued since that time. Although the Veteran was not formally diagnosed with a right ankle disability within one year following service, there is competent medical evidence that she complained of right ankle instability within one year of her active service. Furthermore, the Veteran has a current diagnosis of lateral collateral ligament sprain which the June 2015 VA examiner determined was related to the Veteran’s active service. Accordingly, the Board finds that the evidence for and against the claim is at least in equipoise. Therefore, reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran and entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disability is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (2018); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Kristin Haddock Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Ware, 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.