Citation Nr: 21030082 Decision Date: 05/17/21 Archive Date: 05/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-43 134 DATE: May 17, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a skin disability, to include tinea pedis, is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's skin disability had its onset in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a skin disability, to include tinea pedis, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from March 1951 to December 1952. His awards and decorations include a Combat Infantryman Badge, a Purple Heart, and a Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars. The matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2017 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2021, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. Service Connection for a Skin Disability Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated during service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In order to establish service connection on a direct basis, the record must contain (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. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). In the case of any veteran who has engaged in combat with the enemy in active service during a period of war, satisfactory lay or other evidence that an injury or disease was incurred or aggravated in combat will be accepted as sufficient proof of service connection if the evidence is consistent with the circumstances, condition or hardships of such service, even though there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.304(d). In the case of a combat veteran, not only is the combat injury presumed, but so, too, is the disability due to the in-service combat injury. Reeves v. Shinseki, 682 F.3d 988, 99899 (Fed. Cir. 2012). To establish service connection, however, there still must be evidence of a current disability and a causal relationship between the current disability and the combat injury. Id. The Veteran contends that his skin disability started while participating in combat operations in Korea and has continued thereafter. As previously discussed, the record confirms that the Veteran engaged in combat. The Veteran has been diagnosed with dermatitis, tinea pedis, tinea cruris, and bilateral toenail dermatophytosis. See April 2017 and August 2017 VA examination reports. Thus, the Veteran has a current disability, and establishes the first element for service connection. Additionally, the Veteran's May 1951 and September 1952 service treatment records (STRs) shows that he suffered from a skin condition in service, thus, confirming his credible testimony. Based on all the available evidence of record, the Board finds that service connection for a skin disability is warranted. The Veteran served in combat, and his contentions are consistent with the conditions of that service. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(b). As such, VA must presume the occurrence of the in-service injury. In addition, he has been diagnosed with a skin disability, which he reports began while deployed in Korea. The Board finds his testimony regarding having a persistent skin disability to be credible. There are no records that affirmatively contradict these statements, nor are there records that suggest a different etiology. Thus, there is insufficient evidence to rebut the combat presumption that his skin disability first incepted during his combat service. Reeves, supra. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Given the Veteran's in-service combat experience, his credible history of experiencing a skin condition in and since service, and the diagnosis of a skin disability, the Board finds that service connection is warranted. The Board acknowledges that an April 2017 and August 2017 VA examiner opined that his skin disability is less likely than not related to service. However, the Board finds these medical opinions to be inadequate as they are predicated on the absence of documented continuous treatment without regard to the Veteran's report of symptoms in and since service. In sum, the Board finds that service connection for a skin disability is warranted as being related to combat service. Nathaniel J. Doan Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Robinson, 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.