Citation Nr: 21047671 Decision Date: 08/04/21 Archive Date: 08/04/21 DOCKET NO. 16-42 793 DATE: August 4, 2021 ORDER Service connection for right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome is granted. Service connection for left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran's right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome started in service. 2. The Veteran's left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome started in service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for right wrist carpal tunnel syndrome are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for left wrist carpal tunnel syndrome are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from November 1981 to July 2002. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2013 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The case was remanded for additional development in July 2019. Service Connection The Veteran seeks service connection for his bilateral wrist carpal tunnel syndrome. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting in a disease or injury that is incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. §1110; 38 U.S.C. §3.303. To establish service connection for the claimed disorder, the following criteria must be met: (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and current disability. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313, 1316 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). Determinations as to service connection will be based on review of the entire evidence of record, to include all pertinent medical and lay evidence, with due consideration to VA's policy to administer the law under a broad and liberal interpretation consistent with the facts in each individual case. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). The Board finds service connection is warranted. The Veteran has a diagnosis of bilateral wrist carpal tunnel syndrome. See January 2020 VA examination; see also August 2014 private treatment record. The Veteran reports that he began experiencing carpal tunnel symptoms and was ultimately diagnosed in service in 1994 as a result of his occupation duties. See May 2012 third party correspondence. In this regard, the Board notes that many of the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) are unavailable. After attempts were made to obtain his STRs, the RO issued a March 2009 Formal Finding on the Unavailability of Service Medical Records from November 11, 1981 to July 31, 2002. His military occupational specialty is listed as Navy law enforcement and instructor. His last duty station upon separation was the customer service desk. In its role as a finder of fact, the Board finds that the Veteran's report of in-service onset of bilateral wrist carpal tunnel syndrome is both competent and credible. These statements are entitled to probative weight, as they are internally consistent and have remained consistent throughout the appeal period and are facially plausible. See Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 511 (1995) (when determining whether lay evidence is satisfactory, the Board may properly consider, internal consistency, facial plausibility, and consistency with other evidence submitted on behalf of the client). The Board acknowledges the January 2020 VA examiner's conclusion that the Veteran's carpal tunnel was not related to service because there was an absence of evidence showing medical treatment for several years after service and the diagnosis of the condition was made more than a year following his discharge from active duty. The Board finds this opinion is entitled to limited probative value because of the credible evidence showing the onset of the carpal tunnel syndrome disease process in service. In light of the foregoing, because of the credible evidence of right and left carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms during and since service, and resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds that service connection for right carpal tunnel syndrome and left carpal tunnel syndrome is warranted because the onset of the condition was coincident with the Veteran's active duty service. Flynn v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 500, 503 (1994) (noting that "the element of cause and effect has been totally by-passed in favor of a simple temporal relationship between the incurrence of the disability and the period of active duty"); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a) (Service connection connotes many factors but basically it means that the facts, shown by evidence, establish that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred coincident with service in the Armed Forces). STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Ijitimehin, Kemi D. 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.