Citation Nr: 21076141 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/22/21 DOCKET NO. 20-06 246 DATE: December 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right foot disability, to include right foot pain (claimed as right foot plantar fasciitis) is denied. Entitlement to service connection for right foot pes planus is denied. Entitlement to service connection for left foot pes planus is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that a right foot disability, to include plantar fasciitis, began during active service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease. 2. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that congenital, bilateral pes planus 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 right foot disability, to include plantar fasciitis, are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for congenital, bilateral pes planus are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from February 1963 until his honorable discharge in September 1965, and then served in the reserves until February 1969. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 20.902(c). These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2013 rating decision of the Regional Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In August 2021, the Board remanded the case to the Regional Office for further development. Specifically, the Board directed the Regional Office to obtain new examinations for all three claimed disabilities. Service Connection VA provides compensation for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. This is referred to as a "service connection." 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Regulations also provide that service connection may 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). Generally, service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service the so-called "nexus" requirement. Holton v Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially 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). Furthermore, in deciding 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 (2014); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102 (2018); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of the matter, the benefit of the doubt will be given to the Veteran. Id. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right foot disability, to include right foot pain (claimed as right foot plantar fasciitis). 2. Entitlement to service connection for right foot pes planus. 3. Entitlement to service connection for left foot pes planus. Due to the similar dispositions for the above claims on appeal, the Board will address them in a common discussion below. The Veteran was diagnosed with bilateral pes planus at the September 2014 VA examination. He currently has pain in his right foot, which is noted in his most recent VA examination in September 2021 and VA treatment records. He was diagnosed with planar fasciitis in September 2017 after x-ray images of the right foot were taken. As a result, he has met the first element of service connection for a right foot disability and bilateral pes planus. The Veteran's enlistment examination is normal and does not note the existence of pes planus or a right foot disability. See Service Treatment Records. In January 1964 there is a treatment note that states "hurt foot ... while walking down ladder." There are no further treatment notes pertaining to a foot injury from his period of active-duty service. His separation examination in September 1965 does not mention a foot disability or pes planus. Despite this, the January 1964 foot injury meets the requirements of the second element of service connection. Unfortunately, there is no nexus between the Veteran's current disabilities and his active-duty service. The January 1964 injury does not specify which foot was injured and is the only treatment record for a foot disability in service. Multiple VA examiners have concluded that the right foot pain he had after service is not due to a chronic foot disability caused by the 1964 fall. The September 2014 examiner concluded that his pes planus was congenital, it was not caused by a specific trauma, and that there was no medical evidence of any chronic foot condition related to military service. The September 2021 examiner concluded that the 1964 fall from a ladder did not cause a chronic foot condition and that the injury in 1964 was "acute" and resolved in service. This examiner stated that a chronic foot condition could not be found in the service treatment records and that due to the mild nature of his pes planus the disability was congenital. The Veteran asserted that the boondocker boots he wore in service caused his current foot disability, but the September 2021 examiner found that there was no medical evidence that the boots caused a disability. After the January 1964 fall, he sought treatment for other injuries without seeking further treatment for a foot disability. His separation examination from active duty was also silent for a foot disability. Furthermore, he has been described as a "poor historian" by treating VA physicians. See April 2018 VA Treatment Record. While he is competent to describe his symptoms, he does not have the requisite medical training, expertise, or credentials needed to render a diagnosis or a competent opinion as to medical causation. Therefore, the Veteran is not competent to provide an opinion on the etiology of his right foot disability or bilateral pes planus. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F. 3d 1372, 1377 (2007). After his discharge from active-duty service, the Veteran had periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA). He had a period of ACDUTRA from April 1967 to June 1967 with periods of INACDUTRA until February 1969. In August 1967, he had an annual physical that found he had "Pes planus, NCD." However, there is no evidence of injury or trauma during his reserve service that would cause pes planus. The September 2014 VA examination states that his pes planus is congenital because there is no evidence of trauma or injury to the foot that would cause pes planus. His VA treatment records also characterize his pes planus as congenital. The September 2021 VA examination states that the pes planus was mild and therefore it was more likely as not present upon entry and therefore congenital in nature. Service-connection may be granted for diseases, but not defects, of congenital, developmental or familial origin. See VAOPGCPREC 82-90 (July 18, 1990). Generally, a defect is a condition that is "more or less stationary in nature," and a disease is a condition that is "capable of improving or deteriorating." VA VAOPGCPREC 82-90 (July 18, 1990) (a reissue of General Counsel Opinion 01-85 (March 5, 1985)). The distinction between the defect and disease matters in terms of the application of the presumption of soundness because congenital defects "are not diseases or injuries within the meaning of applicable legislation." 38 U.S.C. § 1111; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(c). There is no evidence that the Veteran's right foot disability or bilateral pes planus developed as a result of his service in the U.S. Navy or Navy reserves. His right foot disability and pain, to include plantar fasciitis has been found to have occurred after service with no connection or nexus to his foot injury in 1964. Furthermore, even assuming that his bilateral pes planus is congenital in nature, there is no probative evidence to show that such was subject to superimposed injury in service. For these reasons, the claims for service connection for a right foot disability, to include plantar fasciitis, and bilateral pes planus are denied. (Continued on the next page) In reaching this decision, the Board considered the doctrine of reasonable doubt, however, as the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran's claim, the doctrine is not for application. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). M. Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. A. Johnston, 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.