Citation Nr: 21006140 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 16-29 009 \\\\DATE: February 3, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a right foot condition is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s right foot condition had its onset during service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a right foot condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1981 to June 1988 and his decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in January 2020. This matter was remanded by the Board in May 2020 for additional development. 1. Service connection for a right foot condition. 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. In cases where a Veteran asserts service connection for injuries or disease incurred or aggravated in combat, 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b) and its implementing regulation, 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(d), are applicable. This statute and regulation ease the evidentiary burden of a combat Veteran by permitting the use, under certain circumstances, of lay evidence. If the Veteran was engaged in combat with the enemy, VA shall accept as sufficient proof of service connection satisfactory lay or other evidence of service incurrence, if the lay or other evidence is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(d). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) has held that in the case of a combat Veteran not only is the combat injury presumed, but so is the disability due to the in-service combat injury. Reeves v. Shinseki, 682 F.3d 988, 998-99 (Fed. Cir. 2012). To establish service connection, however, there must be the evidence of a current disability and a causal relationship between the current disability and the combat injury. Id. (citing Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The Veteran asserts that his right foot condition had its onset during combat service. During the January 2020 hearing, the Veteran testified that he began having pain throughout his right foot during combat, and since that time he has undergone surgeries and now has trouble wearing shoes and walking due to pain. The Board notes that the Veteran is service connected for a right heel condition after being diagnosed with a right heel fracture secondary to his service-connected stress fracture, right tibia. However, the Veteran testified that his right foot condition, which results in functional impairment, is more extensive than just his right heel. See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018). At the November 2020 VA examination, the examiner noted that the Veteran has right foot pain with plantar flexion during active and passive motion. The examiner stated that the Veteran had sharp pain difficulty with prolong walking. In addition, the examiner indicated that the Veteran’s right foot disability was productive of pain, stiffness and numbness, and in terms of functional impairment stated the Veteran had right foot tenderness, pain with prolonged walking. The Board finds that the Veteran’s account of experiencing right foot pain during combat service is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, and hardships of that service. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b). As such, VA must presume the occurrence of the in-service injury. In addition, the medical evidence shows that the Veteran has been diagnosed as having right foot plantar fasciitis and he reports the onset of the condition during combat service. Further, the Board finds that he is both competent to report pain in his right foot during and since serving in combat and that his account of having right foot pain since that time is credible. See Hearing Testimony, January 2020. Thus, the Board finds that the evidence is not sufficient to rebut the presumption that his right foot condition, diagnosed as right foot plantar fasciitis, became manifest during his combat service. See Reeves. In light of the Veteran’s in-service combat-related right foot condition, the credible history of right foot pain related to his combat experience, and the diagnosis of right foot plantar fasciitis, the Board finds that service connection for a right foot condition is warranted because the disability had its onset in service. 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.