Citation Nr: 21003126 Decision Date: 01/19/21 Archive Date: 01/19/21 DOCKET NO. 17-25 231 DATE: January 19, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a chronic right anterior talofibular sprain is granted. Service connection for a right foot disability is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s chronic right anterior talofibular sprain began during active service. 2. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that a right foot disability began during active service, or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for a chronic right anterior talofibular sprain are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for a right foot disability are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service in the U.S. Army from October 1979 to October 1983. He also had additional service in the Army National Guard, including active service from September 1985 to March 1990. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2015 rating decision. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Board hearing in November 2020. In his October 2014 claim, the Veteran claimed a right foot disability. However, both he and his representative have asserted that the claimed condition affects the foot and ankle. Therefore, the Board has bifurcated the claim into two separate issues. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166 -67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Chronic right anterior talofibular sprain The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current right ankle disability that began during active service. VA treatment records from December 2014 show the Veteran has a current diagnosis of a right chronic anterior talofibular sprain. The Veteran’s service treatment records are not available for review. However, he credibly reported sustaining a right ankle injury in 1986 after stepping into a hole during a field exercise. He reported undergoing many months of physical therapy, and that he continued to participate in service activities, but with extra caution and care. He stated that he reinjured or aggravated his ankle at various times after service. This is corroborated by VA treatment records from September 2014, prior to his claim, which show that he incurred a right ankle sprain at that time, but that he had experienced problems on and off for many years since service. Finally, in December 2014, one of the Veteran’s treating VA physicians stated that the Veteran’s chronic anterior talofibular sprain was consistent with his reported long-term history of sprains and that it was more likely than not related to his history of a right ankle sprain during service. Upon review of the record, the Board finds the evidence to at least be in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s current chronic right anterior talofibular sprain had its onset during service. Accordingly, after resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that service connection for this disability is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Right foot disability Separate from the above ankle disability, the Board has considered whether service connection for a right foot disability is warranted. However, the overall weight of the competent evidence is against a finding that a current right foot disability was incurred in service or otherwise related to service. As discussed above, service treatment records are not available, but the Veteran competently and credibly reported sustaining an injury when he stepped into a hole during a field exercise. However, he is not competent to diagnose the specific injury that he sustained. Indeed, while the record shows that the Veteran has characterized the in-service injury as both a “foot” and “ankle” injury, the remainder of the evidence strongly suggests that the injury was specifically for the ankle. For example, in September 2014, when the Veteran injured himself and reported “foot pain,” he was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. In a May 2016 statement describing the in-service injury, he reported that he was taken for an x-ray which showed a torn right ankle tendon. The December 2014 VA physician competently stated that the Veteran’s current right ankle sprain was consistent with a history of an ankle sprain in service, without any mention of the foot. Furthermore, while the Veteran is diagnosed with the foot conditions of plantar fasciitis and cavus deformities, these are bilateral disabilities affecting both feet, with no competent evidence linking them to any trauma, let alone the right foot injury in service. For these reasons, service connection for a right foot disability is not warranted. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Shamil Patel, 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.