Citation Nr: 21014637 Decision Date: 03/15/21 Archive Date: 03/15/21 DOCKET NO. 17-36 564 DATE: March 15, 2021 REMANDED The claim of entitlement to service connection for a right foot disorder is remanded. The claim of entitlement to service connection for a right ankle disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1979 to June 1982. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a rating decision by a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In March 2020, the Veteran testified in a hearing before the Board. A transcript of the hearing is included in the electronic claims file and has been reviewed. In April 2020, the Board remanded the claims on appeal for additional medical inquiry. The case is again before the Board for appellate review. The issues must be remanded for additional medical commentary. An addendum opinion should address the issue of whether service aggravated a pre-service foot disorder. The Veteran initially argued that he had right foot and ankle disorders due to service-connected knee disabilities. He now asserts that these disorders relate to an accident in service as well. The May 1979 enlistment report of medical examination documents that the Veteran entered service with bilateral pes planus. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Return the case to the examiner who wrote the August 2020 VA examination report addressing the right foot and ankle, or to a suitable substitute. After reviewing the claims file, answer the following questions: 1. Is it at least as likely as not (probability of 50 percent or more) that pes planus noted on service entrance increased in severity during service? 2. If so, is it also clear and unmistakable (i.e., undebatable) that the disorder WAS NOT aggravated (i.e., permanently worsened) by service? In other words, it is clear and unmistakable that any increase in severity during service of the pre-service right pes planus was due to the natural progress of the disorder? Only answer #2 if you find under #1 that pes planus at least as likely as not increased in severity during service. If you find that the disorder likely did not increase in severity during service, do not answer #2. In answering these question(s), revisit the comments in the August 2020 VA report regarding hallux valgus and claw toe deformity. Are these two disorders a result of pes planus during service? Also address the contention that the foot disorder worsened due to an accident during active duty. Please explain in detail any opinion provided and the supporting rationale. In rendering the requested opinion, the examiner should note that laypersons are competent to attest to matters of first-hand knowledge, including observable symptomatology. If there is a basis to doubt the history provided by the Veteran, the examiner should indicate this in the examination report and provide a rationale for that determination. (Continued on the next page)   In remanding this case, the Board makes no credibility determination, expressed or implied, at this juncture. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation for why an opinion cannot be rendered. In so doing, the examiner shall explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information, or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question(s). G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Christopher McEntee, 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.