Citation Nr: 21040521 Decision Date: 07/05/21 Archive Date: 07/05/21 DOCKET NO. 18-04 316 DATE: July 5, 2021 ORDER New and material evidence having been submitted, the claim of entitlement to service connection for left foot pes planus is reopened. Entitlement to service connection for left foot pes planus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. In a November 1989 rating decision, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) denied service connection for left foot pes planus. The Veteran did not appeal or submit new and material evidence within a year of the decision. Therefore, the November 1989 rating decision became final. 2. At the time of the November 1989 rating decision, the record did not contain evidence showing a nexus between the Veteran's left foot pes planus and service. Since that decision, the Veteran testified that she developed left foot pes planus in service and that she has had it since that time. This evidence is new and material and raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. 3. The Veteran has left foot pes planus that was incurred during service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. New and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for left foot pes planus. 38 U.S.C. § 7105; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.104, 3.156, 20.302. 2. The criteria to establish service connection for left foot pes planus have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from September 1981 to October 1987. She appealed a May 2017 rating decision. While the Veteran filed a Notice of Disagreement with respect to her increased ratings claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, she did not perfect an appeal with respect to those issues. Thus, those matters are not before the Board. A Board hearing was held in May 2021. A transcript is of record. While additional evidence was received since the certification of this claim, that additional evidence is not pertinent to the issue decided herein; therefore, the Board may proceed to a decision without prejudice to the Veteran. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304(c). Service Connection Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an 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. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran has left foot pes planus. See April 2018 VA examination report. The Veteran's service treatment records indicate she reported chronic problems with her feet and received arch supports for her boots. See June 1982, March 1984, and February 1986 service treatment records. Moreover, the Veteran testified at her Board hearing that her left foot pes planus symptoms began in service and have continued to present. See May 2021 Hearing Transcript, pp. 3-5. As pes planus is a condition capable of lay observation, the Veteran is competent to testify as to her observed symptoms and the actual existence of the condition. See Falzone v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 398, 403 (1995). The Board finds that the Veteran's assertions with respect to her left foot pes planus are credible, as her statements are consistent with the evidence of record. Because the Veteran's pes planus began in service and has continued to the present, service connection for left foot pes planus is warranted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Pelican, Luke H. 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.