Citation Nr: 21013515 Decision Date: 03/09/21 Archive Date: 03/09/21 DOCKET NO. 16-11 061 DATE: March 9, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, previously claimed as pes planus bilateral, surgery on right foot, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence supports finding that the Veteran has bilateral plantar fasciitis related to his military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from September 1987 to April 1993. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was previously remanded by the Board in October 2018 and April 2020. The matter has now come back before the Board for final adjudication. The Board has recharacterized the disability at issue on appeal in view of the facts found. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 5 (2009). Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. 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.” See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). Service connection may also be granted on a secondary basis for a disability if it is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show that a current disability exists and that the current disability was either proximately caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). 1. Bilateral Plantar Fasciitis The Veteran asserts that his currently diagnosed bilateral plantar fasciitis, previously claimed as pes planus, is related to his active service. The Board finds that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of bilateral plantar fasciitis. See May 2019 VA Foot Conditions, Including Flatfoot Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ). The Board notes that there is no evidence of a current diagnosis of pes planus within his medical treatment records. The Veteran contends that he underwent surgery during service in 1988. Specifically, the Veteran underwent an arthroscopic right foot plantar fascia release. He claims that his condition recurred which then required an open right foot plantar fasciectomy with resection of plantar heel in September 2014. The Board notes that the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) do not contain evidence of his in-service foot condition. On remand, the Board directed the RO to obtain said records. In an attempt to obtain the records, the RO requested the records from the Veteran in March 2019. The claims file shows that the RO failed to attempt to obtain the Veteran’s STRs containing his right foot surgery or any foot condition during service. The Veteran is competent to provide testimony regarding factual matters of which he had firsthand knowledge. See Washington v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 362, 368 (2005). The Veteran has firsthand knowledge of his foot aliments and surgery during service. To further support the Veteran’s statements, the VA treatment records consistently report that the Veteran underwent surgery in 1988, to include a right foot endoscopic plantar fascia release. As such, the Board finds the Veteran competent and credible, and accordingly finds the Veteran had an in-service foot condition, to include right foot endoscopic plantar fascia release. The May 2019 VA examiner completed a medical opinion in connection with the VA examination. Here, the examiner opined that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s bilateral plantar fasciitis was incurred in or caused by his active service. To further support his opinion, the examiner stated that during his entrance examination, the Veteran did not have a foot condition. The Veteran’s medical records show that in 1988 he underwent an arthroscopic right foot plantar fascia release and suffered from mild pes planus which had resolved. Unfortunately, his symptoms reoccurred and had to undergo an open right foot plantar fasciectomy with resection of plantar heel in September 2014. The examiner noted that plantar fasciitis was still evident. See May 2019 VA Medical Opinion DBQ. In summation, the Veteran is credible to asserted that he began experiencing symptoms in service and had undergone surgery. The Board finds the Veteran competent and credible to provide these statements, and the VA medical treatment records and VA medical opinion support the Veteran’s statements. Accordingly, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence supports a determination that the Veteran developed bilateral plantar fasciitis while in service and that his currently diagnosed bilateral plantar fasciitis represents a continuation of the same condition. Consequently, service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Glaeser, 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.