Citation Nr: 1408758 Decision Date: 02/28/14 Archive Date: 03/10/14 DOCKET NO. 12-04 766 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Oakland, California THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 2. Entitlement to service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD H.Bunker, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1981 to September 1982. This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Oakland, California. Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2013). 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002). FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran's PTSD is related to service. 2. Residuals of a TBI are not shown to be due to a disease or injury in-service or to any incident of military service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for the establishment of service connection for PTSD have been met. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1131, 5107 (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2013). 2. The criteria for the establishment of service connection for residuals of a TBI have not been met. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1131, 5107 (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2013). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA), when VA receives a complete or substantially complete application for benefits, it must notify the claimant of the information and evidence not of record that is necessary to substantiate a claim, which information and evidence VA will obtain, and which information and evidence the claimant is expected to provide. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (2013). Here, the Veteran was provided with the relevant notice and information in a letter prior to the initial adjudication of his claims. Pelegrini v. Principi, 18 Vet. App. 112, 120-21 (2004) (Pelegrini II). He has not alleged any notice deficiency during the adjudication of his claim. Shinseki v. Sanders, 129 S. Ct. 1696 (2009). VA also has a duty to assist the Veteran in obtaining potentially relevant records, and providing an examination or medical opinion when necessary to make a decision on the claim. Here, the Veteran's service records and identified private treatment records have been obtained and associated with the claims file. The Veteran was also provided with a VA examination which contains a description of the history of the disabilities at issue; documents and considers the relevant medical facts and principles; and provides an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed condition. VA's duty to assist with respect to obtaining relevant records and an examination has been met. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c); Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 312 (2007). Service Connection Service connection may be established for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1131. That an injury or disease occurred in service is not enough; there must be chronic disability resulting from that injury or disease. If there is no showing of a resulting chronic condition during service, then a showing of continuity of symptomatology after service is required to support a finding of chronicity. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). Service connection may also be granted for any injury or disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease or injury was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). In order to establish service connection for the claimed disorder on a direct basis, generally there must be probative evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. See Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). PTSD The Veteran contends that service connection is warranted for PTSD. He has provided stressor statements alleging harassment and verbal abuse by other service members. These statements were confirmed in his service treatment records. The Veteran has been treated privately for PTSD for many years. He has been diagnosed with PTSD on multiple occasions and the providers have stated that the Veteran's PTSD symptoms are related to events from service. See e.g., February 2010 statement by S.C., October 2012 statement by Dr. A.N., and December 2012 statement by S.T. The October 2010 VA examiner did not diagnose the Veteran with PTSD. The Veteran was diagnosed with alcohol abuse and personality disorder, which he did not relate to service. The examiner did not comment on the private treatment providers' diagnoses of PTSD. At the very least, the Board finds the evidence is in relative equipoise. As there is corroborative evidence that the Veteran has PTSD and there are competent medical opinions linking PTSD to service, the Board finds that, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the criteria for a grant of service connection have been met. As such, the Veteran's claim of service connection for PTSD is granted. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107 (West 2002). The Board expresses no opinion regarding the severity of the disorder now granted service connection. The RO will assign appropriate disability ratings and effective dates on receipt of this decision. Ferenc v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 58 (2006) (discussing the distinction in the terms "compensation," "rating," and "service connection" as although related, each having a distinct meaning as specified by Congress). Residuals of a TBI The Veteran claims that he has residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that was incurred in service. The Veteran's service treatment records are silent for any head injury, or complaints of headaches. On his September 1982 separation examination the Veteran specifically denied dizziness or fainting spells, head injury, or headaches. Following separation from service there is no evidence to indicate the Veteran has been diagnosed with residuals of a TBI. The medical treatment records also reveal that the Veteran has not complained of headaches, or a head injury in service which caused residuals. After reviewing the claims file, the Board finds that there is no competent evidence of record which shows that the Veteran currently, or since his appeal was filed, had a chronic disability, namely residuals of a TBI, for which service connection is warranted. Without a current diagnosis of a disability, the Board cannot grant service connection. To prevail on the issue of service connection, a current disability must have existed on or after the date of application for that disability. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 1131; see also Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 1997); see also McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319, 321 (2007) (agreeing that the requirement that a claimant have a current disability before service connection may be awarded is satisfied when a claimant has a disability at the time a VA claim is filed or during the pendency of that claim.). The Board acknowledges the Veteran's contention that he has residuals from a TBI in service. Although lay persons are competent to provide opinions on some medical issues, see Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428, 435 (2011), as to the specific issue in this case, diagnosing residuals of a TBI, this falls outside the realm of common knowledge of a lay person. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (lay persons not competent to diagnose cancer). While the Board appreciates the Veteran's service, there is no competent and credible evidence showing that he has residuals from an in service TBI for which service connection is warranted. The Veteran has produced no competent evidence or medical opinion in support of his claim that he suffers from such a disability, and the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran's claim. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a TBI must be denied. ORDER Entitlement to service connection for PTSD is granted. Entitlement to service connection for a TBI is denied. ____________________________________________ KELLI A. KORDICH Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs