Citation Nr: 20007059 Decision Date: 01/29/20 Archive Date: 01/28/20 DOCKET NO. 15-02 820 DATE: January 29, 2020 ORDER Service connection for a right leg disorder is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a current right leg disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a right leg disorder are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty service from July 1955 to December 1955, and from April 1956 to January 1966. The instant case is an appeal from an August 2013 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) rating decision that denied service connection for a right leg disorder. The case has two prior Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) remands in order to further develop the record. The most recent remand occurred in September 2018. The remand required a VA examination that specifically dealt with peripheral nerve conditions. The RO secured that examination and, accordingly, the Board finds that there has been substantial compliance with the September 2018 remand with respect to a right leg disorder. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Duties to Notify and Assist The Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA) and implementing regulations impose obligations on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide claimants with notice and assistance. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5107, 5126 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.326(a). The Board finds that the duties to notify and assist have been met. Neither the Veteran nor the representative has raised contentions regarding notice or assistance. Accordingly, the duty to notify and assist will not be further addressed. Service Connection for a Right Leg Disorder Service connection can be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 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). Service connection generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of an 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. The Veteran contends generally that he injured his right leg during service and that the in-service injury now causes leg pain. The service treatment records reflect one day of treatment for right leg pain after four days of pain, which was diagnosed on that day of treatment as neuralgia. The Veteran testified at a March 2017 Board hearing that he was not provided with any treatment and was simply told to return to duty. The Veteran testified that the pain had worsened and impacted the ability to sleep. The Veteran acknowledged that he had not been given a diagnosis for the right leg symptoms. After a review of all the lay and medical evidence, the Board finds that the weight of the evidence shows no current right leg disability. Consistent with the Veteran’s own testimony that the right leg symptoms had not resulted in a medical diagnosis, a January 2018 VA knee and lower leg examination concluded that there was no present lower leg disability. The VA examiner diagnosed degenerative arthritis of the right knee and recognized the historical diagnosis of neuralgia of the leg, but noted there was no evidence of current chronic continuous treatment and care. The VA examiner opined that the right knee arthritis is not related to the history of right leg neuralgia. Due to the nature of the disability and history, the Board remanded for a peripheral nerves examination. The June 2019 VA examiner conducted a thorough examination, which included testing for symptoms attributable to peripheral nerve conditions, which could include constant pain (including excruciating pain), intermittent pain (usually dull), paresthesias or dysesthesias, and numbness. The VA examiner also tested for muscle strength, reflexes, and a sensory examination. At the end of the examination, the VA examiner concluded that all the Veteran’s nerves are normal and that there is no neuropathic condition. (Continued on the next page)   Because the weight of the evidence shows there is no current right leg disability, service connection must be denied. See Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992); see also McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007) (service connection may be warranted if there was a disability present at any point during the claim period, even if it is not currently present); Romanowsky v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 289 (2013) (when the record contains a recent diagnosis of disability immediately prior to a veteran filing a claim for benefits based on that disability, the report of diagnosis is relevant evidence that the Board must address in determining whether a current disability existed at the time the claim was filed or during its pendency). J. PARKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Smith, Associate Counsel 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.