Citation Nr: 0707992 Decision Date: 03/16/07 Archive Date: 04/09/07 DOCKET NO. 05-20 899 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Detroit, Michigan THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for multiple sclerosis. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Paralyzed Veterans of America, Inc. WITNESSES AT HEARING ON APPEAL Veteran, Veteran's wife ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Millikan Sponsler, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran served on active military duty from July 1955 to June 1958. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision by the Detroit, Michigan, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). FINDING OF FACT The competent evidence of record demonstrates that multiple sclerosis is related to active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Multiple sclerosis was incurred in or aggravated by active military service, and may be presumed to have been so incurred. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1131, 1137, 5103A, 5107 (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2006). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION In November 2000, the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA) was signed into law. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5100, 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5106, 5107, 5126 (West 2002 & Supp. 2005); see also 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.156(a), 3.159, 3.326 (2006). Because the claim on appeal is being granted in full, the notification and duty to assist provisions of the VCAA are deemed fully satisfied. Generally, service connection may be established for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1131, 1137; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). In addition, multiple sclerosis may be presumed to have been incurred during service if it first became manifest to a compensable degree within seven years of separation from active duty. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1112, 1131, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. In order to establish service connection for a claimed disorder, the following must be shown: (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). The veteran's service medical records are negative for multiple sclerosis. Private medical records from July 1990 to April 2003 demonstrate a current diagnosis of, and treatment for, multiple sclerosis. A July 1990 private record noted that multiple sclerosis had been diagnosed 21 years earlier, or in 1969. An April 1991 private record stated that multiple sclerosis was diagnosed 21 years earlier, or in 1970. A January 1997 private record indicates that multiple sclerosis was diagnosed 26 years earlier, or in 1970 or 1971. An October 1997 Social Security Administration disability determination found the veteran disabled due to multiple sclerosis. In a February 2005 lay statement, the veteran's sister stated that sometime in June or July 1964, the veteran had left eye vision problems. The veteran's sister stated that at that time, he went to see his physician who referred him to an opthamologist. The veteran's sister stated that the next time she saw him, he was wearing a patch on his eye and taking medication for the blurred vision. In a February 2005 lay statement, the veteran asserted that in June or July 1964, he had blurred vision in his left eye. The veteran went to his primary care physician who referred him to an opthamologist, who diagnosed left eye neuritis and prescribed an eye patch and mediation. The veteran asserted that in March 1968, he lost color in his left eye vision and he went back to the opthamologist who referred him to another opthamologist. That second opthamologist diagnosed retrobulbar neuritis, prescribed medication, and indicated that this could be warning signs of multiple sclerosis. The veteran then began seeing a specialist for multiple sclerosis. The veteran's current specialist, G.M., M.D., took over the practice of the veteran's original specialist. In a February 2005 statement, Dr. G.M. stated that he and the veteran went over the veteran's medical records and reviewed the veteran's history. Dr. G.M. stated that the veteran developed blurred vision in the left eye in June 1964, and an ophthalmologist diagnosed of left optic neuritis. Subsequently, the veteran developed a problem with progressive weakness in the extremities and a specialist definitively diagnosed multiple sclerosis. Dr. G.M. opined that the veteran's multiple sclerosis had its onset in June 1964. At the February 2006 Board videoconference hearing, the veteran and his wife testified. The veteran testified that his vision problems began in 1964. The veteran's wife, who had been married to the veteran since 1960, also testified that he veteran began having vision problems in 1964. The Board finds that the evidence of record supports a finding of service connection for multiple sclerosis. There is a current diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328, 1333 (1997) (holding that the existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation). In addition, the other evidence of record supports that the multiple sclerosis manifested to a compensable degree within 7 years of service discharge, or prior to June 1965. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307. The veteran, the veteran's spouse, and the veteran's sister testified that in June or July 1964, the veteran had blurred vision of his left eye, which required wearing an eye patch and medication. Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 504 (1995), aff'd by 78 F.3d 604 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (noting that where issue does not require medical expertise, lay testimony may suffice); see also Espiritu v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 492, 495 (1992) (holding that lay testimony is competent to establish pain or symptoms, but not establish a medical opinion). In addition, the veteran's treating specialist opined, based on a review of the veteran's medical file and history, that multiple sclerosis had its onset in 1964, when the left eye vision problems began. Colvin v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 171, 175 (1991) (holding that the Board is not free to substitute its own judgment for that of such an expert); see also Prejean v. West, 13 Vet. App. 444, 448-9 (2000) (holding that factors for assessing the probative value of a medical opinion are the physician's access to the claims file and the thoroughness and detail of the opinion). Accordingly, and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran, service connection for multiple sclerosis is warranted. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). ORDER Service connection for multiple sclerosis is granted. ____________________________________________ JOY A. MCDONALD Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs