Citation Nr: 21028636 Decision Date: 05/11/21 Archive Date: 05/11/21 DOCKET NO. 15-15 597 DATE: May 11, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a neck disability is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's current neck disability had its onset during her active duty service. See, e.g., Service Treatment Records (STRs) dated January 1980; June 2018 Board Hearing. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a neck disability are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 1131, 1132, 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 Coast Guard from October 1976 to June 1981 and from July 1984 to June 1988. This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Oakland, California. Generally, in order to prove service connection, there must be competent, credible evidence of 1) a current disability, 2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury or disease, and 3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. See, e.g., Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Pond v. West, 12 Vet. App. 341 (1999). Here, there is no question as to either the existence of a current disability or an in-service injury. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of intervertebral disc disease (IVDS) and degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine with disc space narrowing at C2-C3. See July 2020 VA Examination. Moreover, her STRs reflect a neck injury while working in the wing of a C-130 in January 1980. The only remaining question is whether there is a nexus between the Veteran's in-service injury and her current disability. The Veteran's medical records reflect treatment for a neck condition as early as May 2001, and the Veteran testified at her June 2018 Board hearing that she had first sought treatment for her neck even earlier, in 1996. She also testified that she had had continual symptoms in the time between the injury and the time she first sought treatment, which she had self-treated with pain medication. The Veteran is competent to report the details of her personal history, including symptoms of illness, and the Board finds her to be credible. Weighing against her testimony is a July 2020 VA examination and opinion concluding that the Veteran's current neck disability is not related to her active duty service. The July 2020 examiner stated that the Veteran's cervical spine degenerative disc disease was not likely related to her neck injury on active duty service, in part because "none of listed causes or risk factors were present on the initial cervical X-ray" from January 1980. However, among the risk factors for cervical degenerative disc disease, the examiner listed "neck injuries." Furthermore, the examiner stated that the Veteran's neck condition was likely due to her age, whereas the Veteran reported seeking treatment for the condition as early as 1996, when she was 38 years old. In light of these significant oversights in the July 2020 examiner's opinion, the Board finds that it is inadequate for VA purposes and affords it little probative weight. Aside from the July 2020 examination and opinion, there is no evidence to contradict the Veteran's report of continuous neck symptoms from the time of her in-service injury to the present, partly corroborated by her STRs and post-service treatment record from May 2001 on. To the extent that any reasonable doubt remains, the Board resolves all such doubt in the Veteran's favor. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran's neck condition had its onset during her active duty service. Accordingly, service connection for a neck condition is warranted. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board P. Timmerman, 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.