Citation Nr: 21026066 Decision Date: 04/29/21 Archive Date: 04/29/21 DOCKET NO. 07-32 534 DATE: April 29, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability as secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus disability is granted. Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability as secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus disability is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT The Veteran’s bilateral severe arthritis of the knees is aggravated beyond its natural progression by his service-connected bilateral pes planus disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral severe arthritis of the knees as secondary to service-connected bilateral pes planus are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active duty service from January 1971 to April 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a March 2005 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board notes that a hearing was held in June 2009 by a Veterans Law Judge who has since retired. The Veteran was notified of this development. A transcript of that hearing is of record. The Veteran’s claims were remanded in December 2017 to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing secondary service connection, as well as to obtain any and all missing private treatment records since 2017. Secondary Service Connection In order to prevail under a theory of secondary service connection, there must be: (1) evidence of a currently diagnosed condition; (2) evidence of a service-connected disability; and, (3) medical nexus evidence establishing a connection between the service-connected disability and the current condition. See Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998). 1. Entitlement to service connection for right knee disability, to include as secondary to a service-connected disability 2. Entitlement to service connection for left knee disability, to include as secondary to a service-connected disability The question before the Board is whether the Veteran’s claimed for bilateral knee condition is at least as likely as not related to his service-connected bilateral pes planus disability. As the discussion below on secondary service connection is favorable, no other theories of entitlement will be addressed. As to the first element of secondary service connection, the Veteran must show a current disability. Per the January 2016 VA examination report, the Veteran has a current diagnosis of bilateral knee joint osteoarthritis. As such, the Board finds that the Veteran’s claim meets the first element of secondary service connection. As to the second element of secondary service connection, the Veteran must show a service-connected disability. Here, the Veteran claims that his currently diagnosed bilateral knee condition is secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus disability, and therefore the Board finds that the second element of secondary service connection has also been met. See August 1976 RD. As to the last element of secondary service connection, the Veteran must show a causal relationship between the currently diagnosed condition and the service-connected disability. Upon remand, the March 2018 VA examiner opined that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s bilateral knee arthritis was aggravated beyond its natural progression by his service-connected bilateral pes planus condition, noting the progression of that condition as being mild in 1994 to severe in 2018. See also May 2019 Memorandum in Support of Claim (summary of medical evidence of record in support of secondary service connection); November 2017 Additional Evidence For Board Review. The Board finds the opinion to be highly probative on the inherently medical question before it. It is appropriately supported by the underlying reasons offered. As such, the Board finds that service connection for bilateral knee arthritis is warranted based on a secondary service connection theory of entitlement as having been aggravated beyond its natural progression by service-connected bilateral pes planus. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Bethany L. Buck Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S.R. Fey, 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.