Citation Nr: A24040468 Decision Date: 07/24/24 Archive Date: 07/24/24 DOCKET NO. 210702-169948 DATE: July 24, 2024 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right knee strain is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's right knee strain began in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a right knee strain have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303 REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the United States Marine Corps from January 1998 to January 2002. In the July 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. In December 2020, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, and requested readjudication of entitlement to service connection for a right knee strain most recently addressed in a March 2020 higher-level review rating decision (originating from a November 2019 rating decision and a December 2019 VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review). In June 2021, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) issued the supplemental claim decision on appeal, which, citing to the January 2021 examination report, implicitly found that new and relevant evidence had been received and denied the claim based on the evidence of record at the time of that decision. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the June 2021 supplemental claim decision on appeal. Entitlement to service connection for a right knee strain is granted. The Veteran contends that the January 2021 examination report is inadequate, in part, because no direct service connection opinion was proffered. See July 2021 Appellate Brief. Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166 -67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). By way of background, the Veteran's claim was denied in a November 2019 rating decision. This rating decision informed the Veteran that his service treatment records did not contain complaints, treatment, or diagnosis for a right knee condition during active duty service. This is incorrect. The Veteran's service treatment records indeed show complaints related to his right knee in June 1999 (referencing right calf pain over the past two months, which extended from his tibia to his hip, with no history of trauma and no prior injury to his right lower extremity; this pain started with running and physical training; he was referred for x-rays to rule out a stress fracture) and October 2001 (the Veteran was playing basketball and felt pain and tingling sensation behind his knee; he experienced pain when walking and running; he again described a history of knee pain in June of 1999). The September 2019 C&P examination report identified a current diagnosis of a right knee strain, which was first diagnosed in 2000 (during the Veteran's active-duty service). In the medical history section of the examination report, the examiner stated: "right knee pain started during service due to heavy training." As such, the competent medical evidence of record shows a current right knee disability which began in service. The Board finds no reason to discount the weight of this evidence. The Board agrees that the January 2021 examination report is inadequate as it does not address service connection on a direct basis. Nevertheless, the September 2019 examination report, despite lacking a formal medical opinion statement, clearly places the onset of the Veteran's current disability in service, which is consistent with his service treatment records, reflecting visits in both 1999 and 2001 related to his right knee pain. After reviewing the evidence, the Board finds that the Veteran has a current right knee disability that began in service. Therefore, entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is granted. G. William Riggs Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Hennessy 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.