Citation Nr: 21006216 Decision Date: 02/03/21 Archive Date: 02/03/21 DOCKET NO. 16-52 168 DATE: February 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for scar above the left eye is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT At the time of the March 9, 2013 motor vehicle accident, the Veteran was on authorized travel from active duty service to his home. The Veteran’s scar above the left eye is related to the in-service automobile accident. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for left eye scar are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 13, 2006 to March 1, 2013. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a June 2014 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran appeared for a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in December 2020. A transcript of the proceeding is of record. Although the Board has an obligation to provide adequate reasons and bases supporting this decision, there is no requirement that the evidence submitted by the appellant or obtained on his behalf be discussed in detail. Rather, the Board’s analysis below will focus specifically on what evidence is needed to substantiate the claim and what the evidence in the file shows, or fails to show, with respect to the claim. See Gonzales v. West, 218 F.3d 1378, 1380-81 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Timberlake v. Gober, 14 Vet. App. 122, 128-30 (2000). Where there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, VA shall resolve reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). To deny a claim on its merits, the evidence must preponderate against the claim. Alemany v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 518 (1996). Entitlement to service connection for scar above the left eye The Veteran contends his left eye scar is due to a motor vehicle accident during a period of travel from active duty in Fort Bragg, North Carolina to his home in California. Service connection is granted for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 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). The January 2014 VA examination establishes the Veteran has a scar above the left eye. As such, the Board finds the current disability element is established. Regarding the in-service incurrence element, the Veteran competently and credibly testified he was in a motor vehicle accident in Louisville, Kentucky on March 9, 2013 while traveling directly from his active duty assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Winton, California. See December 2020 Board hearing testimony. In support, the Veteran submitted police reports confirming the date and location of the accident. Police reports indicate the Veteran was not at fault in the accident. On the day of the accident, the Veteran obtained emergency medical treatment for a laceration above the left eye, among other injuries. See March 2013 Private Treatment Records. Thus, the issue is whether the Veteran’s March 9, 2013 motor vehicle accident happened during a period of “active duty” as defined by the pertinent law and regulations. The applicable legal criteria pertaining to active duty service and official military travel time are contained in 38 C.F.R. § 3.6. Specifically, that section states that active duty involves “authorized travel to or from such duty or service and that “a person discharged or released from a period of active duty, shall be deemed to have continued on active duty during the period of time immediately following the date of such discharge or release from such duty determined by the Secretary concerned to have been required for him or her to proceed to his or her home by the most direct route, and, in all instances, until midnight of the date of such discharge or release.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.6(b)(6), (7). The Veteran’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) reflects a period of active duty service from July 13, 2006 to March 1, 2013. At the December 2020 Board hearing the Veteran testified that he took several days in Fort Bragg after his discharge to pack and prepare for travel. Further, his direct route home was through Louisville, Kentucky. The Board finds the Veteran’s testimony competent and credible. Thus, under 38 C.F.R. § 3.6(b)(6) and (7), the Board finds the Veteran’s motor vehicle accident occurred during active duty service. Turning to the nexus element, the January 2014 VA examination indicates the Veteran’s scar above the left eye is due to a laceration above the left eye sustained in the March 2013 motor vehicle accident. There are no contrary opinions of record. Accordingly, the Board concludes that the Veteran has a current disability related to active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board K.L. Blevins, 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.