Citation Nr: 21076813 Decision Date: 12/27/21 Archive Date: 12/27/21 DOCKET NO. 16-19 659 DATE: December 27, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability), is granted. Entitlement to service connection for right tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability), is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran's left tarsal tunnel syndrome is proximately due to his service-connected back disability. 2. The Veteran's right tarsal tunnel syndrome is proximately due to his service-connected back disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for left tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability), have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for right tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability), have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1965 to May 1967 with service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2014 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board denied this claim in October 2019, and the Veteran appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In June 2020, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) in which the parties agreed to vacate the October 2019 decision and remand the matters to the Board. In compliance with the June 2020 JMR, the Board remanded this matter in February 2021. In July 2019, the Veteran testified before a former Veterans Law Judge. After being notified that the Veterans Law Judge who chaired the July 2019 was no longer employed by the Board, the Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in December 2021. 1. Entitlement to service connection for left tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability). 2. Entitlement to service connection for right tarsal tunnel syndrome, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spinal stenosis (back disability). To establish service connection for a claimed disorder, the following criteria must be met: (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and current disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also, Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting in a disease or injury that is incurred in or aggravated by active-duty military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be established by credible lay evidence and medical evidence provided by the Veteran or otherwise. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may also be found on a secondary basis where the following criteria is met: (1) a current disability that is not already service-connected; (2) at least one service-connected disability; and (3) evidence that the non-service-connected current disability is either proximately due to or as the result of a service-connected disability; or, aggravated beyond its natural progress by a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (2018); see also, El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013); Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). The Veteran contends that his bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome is initially manifested in 1967. He also maintains that this disability is secondary to his service-connected back disability. During the December 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified that he has back pain with decreased range of motion, flare ups, can only walk up to half a mile, and has bilateral lower extremity neuropathy. He stated that a doctor told him that his leg pain is related to his back condition. The Veteran stated that he injured his back in service and has had back problems since service. He also testified that he has had back and leg pain since 1967. In a December 2021 statement, the Veteran's wife corroborated the Veteran's testimony and reported that after the Veteran came home from serving in Vietnam in 1967, she noticed that he began having pain in his lower back and over the years it got worse, affecting his legs, feet, and ankles. Medical treatment records show a diagnosis of bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome. See EMG and NCS Testing, June 2016. A May 2013 medical treatment record also notes a clinical history of persistent back pain and lumbar radiculopathy. In April 2014, a podiatrist noted the Veteran's complaints of numbness, tingling, pins and needles, and intermittent pain in both feet, and stated that neurological testing with EMG is consistent with neuropathy. The podiatrist noted positive history of low back involvement due to injury while in service. Here, regardless of the etiology of the disability, the Veteran has competently and credibly reported the onset of these neurological symptoms in 1967, thus indicating that direct service connection is warranted. The Board acknowledges the negative VA opinion evidence. However, based on the medical and lay evidence of record, the Board finds that the evidence in is equipoise and thus supports the Veteran's claim that his bilateral tarsal tunnel syndrome disability is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected low back disability. Thus, service connection is warranted. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Sara Leigh, Attorney Advisor 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.