Citation Nr: 18147159 Decision Date: 11/02/18 Archive Date: 11/02/18 DOCKET NO. 16-42 203 DATE: November 2, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for low back strain is denied. Entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica is denied. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran has a low back strain due to a disease or injury in service, to include specific in-service event, injury, or disease. 2. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran has left lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica due to a disease or injury in service, to include specific in-service event, injury, or disease. 3. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran has right lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica due to a disease or injury in service, to include specific in-service event, injury, or disease. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for low back strain are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). 2. The criteria for service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). 3. The criteria for service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from March 2001 to March 2005. Service Connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service, even if the disability was initially diagnosed after service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may also be granted on a secondary basis for a disability if it is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show that a current disability exists and that the current disability was either proximately caused by or proximately aggravated by a service-connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). In this case, the Veteran claims that he has had recurring back pain ever since his active duty service and also has recurring bilateral sciatica and associated numbness in both of his legs “from time to time.” His service treatment records (STRs) reflect that he reported a history of having experienced back pain which did not radiate for the previous two years during a visit with a doctor in January 2003. Those STRs also show that the Veteran reported back pain, muscle aches, and numbness or tingling in his hands or feet on Post-Deployment Health Assessments a few times during the course of his active duty service, mostly in 2003 and 2004. The Veteran’s VA treatment records reflect that he also reported a history of back pain with intermittent lower extremity numbness for the previous two years during a December 2005 visit with a VA physician. In July 2016, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination for his claimed back condition, radiculopathy, and/or sciatica. The examiner reviewed the claims file and indicated that the Veteran was diagnosed with a lumbar strain in 2003 and radiculopathy at another, unknown time. However, the examiner also essentially opined that there was no nexus between any current lower back condition and lower extremity neuropathy, on the one hand, and the in-service lower back strain and complaints of back pain, on the other. As support for that opinion, the examiner noted that though there is evidence of the aforementioned lumbar strain, lower back pain and numbness or tingling during service, there is no evidence of a chronic lower back condition or of chronic radiculopathy beginning during or being caused by the Veteran’s active duty service. Regarding causation, the Board acknowledges that the Veteran attributes his lower back condition to his active duty service, but the Board also finds that the Veteran is not competent to opine on whether his lower back condition was caused or is related to his lower back injury and related complaints of pian during his service. He has not shown that he has the education, training, experience, or other qualifications necessary in order to competently opine on such a medically complex matter. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The evidence set forth above is the most pertinent evidence in the claims file in relation to these issues, and after review of that evidence and the remainder of the claims file, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs against each of these claims. The Board reaches this conclusion based on its determination that the July 2016 VA examination opinion has greater probative value than the Veteran’s lay contentions do. Apart from the Veteran’s contentions that are reported therein, the Veteran’s STRs and VA treatment records do not weigh in favor or against his claims. The July 2016 VA examination opinion, however, does weigh against the claim, and the Board finds it to be the most probative evidence of record, as based upon a claims file review and supported by a thorough rationale provided by a trained and credentialed medical professional. Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for a low back strain or for left or right lower extremity radiculopathy/sciatica. These claims are denied. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD C. Banks, Associate Counsel