Citation Nr: 21071655 Decision Date: 12/01/21 Archive Date: 12/01/21 DOCKET NO. 15-04 153 DATE: December 1, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, her right knee disability was incurred during active military service and is etiologically related to active duty service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for establishing entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§1110, 1113, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had honorable active service with the United States Navy from June 1981 to July 1985. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) Reinhart in July 2018. A transcript of the hearing has been included in the record. VLJ Reinhart has since left the Board. In May 2019, the Board issued a decision which denied entitlement to service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral ankle condition, and a left shoulder condition. The Veteran appealed the Board's decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). Then in June 2020, the Veteran and the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs (collectively, as parties) filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR). The parties requested that the Court vacate the Board's May 2019 decision in part and remand the matter for further consideration and instructions consistent with the JMPR. The Court granted the JMPR in July 2020. Then in November 2020, the Board sent the Veteran a letter informing her of the reassignment of her appeal to another VLJ, and that an optional new Board hearing was available upon request. 38 U.S.C. § 7107(c); 38 C.F.R. § 20.604. Additionally, the letter informed the Veteran that if she did not respond within 30 days from the date of the letter, the Board would assume the Veteran did not want another hearing and proceed accordingly. The Veteran did not respond to request another hearing. In January 2021, and July 2021, the Board has remanded the Veteran's claim with respect to her bilateral knees consistent with the JMPR. The Veteran was afforded a new VA examination in September 2021. After which, in September 2021, a rating decision was issued granting service connection for the Veteran's left knee. At the same time as the September 2021 rating decision granting service connection for the Veteran's left knee, a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) was issued denying entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's right knee. The entitlement to service connection for the right knee is now back before the Board for adjudication. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is granted. Generally, service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from an injury or disease caused or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). A grant for service connection for a disability requires: (1) a present disability or persistent or recurrent symptoms of a disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship ("nexus") between the present disability and the in-service event, injury, or disease. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013). The Veteran contends that her right knee pain began during active service and has continued ever since. She testified that she injured both of her knees playing sports in service. Additionally, she continued to have difficulty with both her knees after service. However, she was not able to get medical care for a while due to lack of money. She also did not have a supportive spouse. She was treating her knee pain at home, but in 2004 she began medical care for her knees. See Hearing Transcript received July 2018. First, the Veteran has a current disability of right knee osteoarthritis. See C&P Exam received May 2021. She has had treatment consistent with right knee pain and osteoarthritis. See Medical Treatment Record-Non- Government Facility received April 2021. Thus, the Veteran has a current disability, and the first element of service connection has been met. Second, the evidence supports a finding of an in-service event, injury, or disease. As noted above, the Veteran reported that she injured both her knees during service participating in sports. See Hearing Transcript received July 2018. The Board noted that the Veteran's left knee and both ankles are already service-connected based on the Veteran's reports of injuries from participating in sports during service. The Board finds that the Veteran's statements are credible, as they are consistent with the medical evidence of record and with the verified circumstances of her service. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a). The Board accepts these statements as competent evidence establishing an in-service event, injury, or disease. Lastly, the Board considers whether the evidence supports a link or nexus between the Veteran's in-service sports related knee injuries and her current right knee disability. In particular, the September 2021 VA examiner provided an opinion which supported a link between the Veteran's bilateral knee pain to service. That opinion discussed the right knee as well as the left. The September 2021 examiner opined that the Veteran's medical records in service documented knee pain and that the Veteran continued to complain of knee pain. The examiner noted imaging of the Veteran's left knee showing a meniscal tear and right knee arthritis. The examiner opined that taking all the evidence together both the Veteran's right knee osteoarthritis and left knee meniscal tear was at least as likely as not incurred in or caused by the claimed in service knee pain. See C&P Exam received September 2021. As discussed, the Veteran was currently service connected for the left knee meniscal tear based on the September 2021 VA opinion. The SSOC pointed out that the Veteran did not have treatment for a right knee condition during service and that the Veteran only had treatment for a left knee condition. While the SSOC may be correct that the Veteran did not have treatment documented in service for a right knee disability, the Veteran did have treatment for left knee pain, and she testified to right knee pain and ongoing symptoms since service as to both knees. Moreover, at separation the Veteran indicated on the Report of Medical History that she had a "trick" or locked knee, and that she had swollen and painful joints. See STR-Medical received September 1985. The law is clear. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of an issue material to the determination of the matter, the Veteran shall be afforded the benefit of the doubt and prevail upon the issue. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). Resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that a link between the Veteran's right knee disability and in-service sports related injuries has been established. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability is granted. B. MULLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Associate Counsel, C. Parnell 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.