Citation Nr: 20060558 Decision Date: 09/15/20 Archive Date: 09/15/20 DOCKET NO. 14-20 715A DATE: September 15, 2020 ORDER Service connection for a left hip disorder is denied.   FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s left hip disorder did not have its onset during service and is not otherwise related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a left hip disorder have not been 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 served on active duty from December 1963 to November 1967. The case is on appeal from an August 2013 rating decision. In December 2016, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing. In a February 2018 decision, the Board reopened a previously denied claim of service connection for skin cancer. At that time, the Board remanded the reopened claim and the left hip claim for further development. When the case was in remand status, in a December 2019 rating decision, the RO granted service connection for skin cancer. As the benefit sought was granted in full, the issue is no longer on appeal. The Board has limited the discussion below to the relevant evidence required to support its finding of fact and conclusion of law, as well as to the specific contentions regarding the case as raised directly by the Veteran and those reasonably raised by the record. See Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2015); Robinson v. Peake, 21 Vet. App. 545, 552 (2008). Service connection for a left hip disorder. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. A veteran seeking compensation under these provisions must establish three elements: “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service.” Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). The Veteran contends that his left hip disorder is related to service, to include consistently lifting and carrying heavy artillery. The Veteran was diagnosed with left hip or thigh arthralgia after seeking private medical treatment for left hip pain in August 2010. A February 2011 private treatment record indicated he has mild to moderate degenerative changes including cartilage thinning, subchondral cystic changes, and marginal spurs on the femoral head. Additionally, a February 2018 VA treatment record noted the Veteran has degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the left hip. The Veteran submitted a May 2012 statement which indicated his service in the heavy artillery required heavy lifting, including howitzer rounds which weighed over 200 pounds. He stated he also carried powder bags which weighed 25 to 50 pounds. During the December 2016 Board hearing, the Veteran similarly reported that his left hip disorder was caused by moving heavy artillery shells for up to eight hours at a time during service. He stated the eight inch howitzer shells weighed as much as 240 pounds. He indicated there was not a specific injury in service but that his left hip was subjected to wear and tear over time. He stated he did not seek in-service treatment for his left hip problems because he did not want to remove himself from his team and put a burden on someone else. The claim was remanded by the Board in February 2018 for a VA examination. The Veteran was afforded a May 2018 VA examination pursuant to the remand in which he was diagnosed with left hip osteoarthritis. He reported his hips started to get sore in the last ten years. The examiner determined the Veteran’s left hip disorder was not incurred in or caused by service. He indicated the Veteran reported having hip pain only in the last ten years and he did not recall having any hip problems during approximately thirty years of physical labor activity as a cable lineman working for the phone company. The examiner noted as a cable lineman, the Veteran was required to climb ladders and poles, with lifting and carrying of equipment. He stated with this type of labor intensive activity for thirty years following service, and with no reported hip complaints, there is no nexus between the Veteran’s service activities which required lifting and his hip disorder. The examiner reported the Veteran also had injuries to both knees which caused limps in the last ten years and required a cane due to the gait abnormalities. The Board notes the Veteran is not service-connected for bilateral knee disabilities. Thereafter, the Veteran’s representative submitted a July 2020 brief which indicated the Veteran’s “left hip condition is in fact related to his military service to include as progressively worsened by his service-connected back condition which was not addressed in the examination report.” The Board notes the Veteran is not service connected for a back disorder. The Board determines service connection for a left hip disorder is not warranted. The most persuasive medical evidence of record supports that the Veteran’s left hip disorder did not have its onset during service and is not otherwise related to service. In this regard, the Board finds the May 2018 VA examination report to be the most persuasive evidence of record. The examiner addressed the Veteran’s contention and found his left hip disorder was not related to service. He noted the Veteran had no left hip complaints over a thirty year career as a cable lineman for the phone company, a physically intensive job. The Board finds the opinion to be highly persuasive as it is clear and unequivocal and based on the relevant evidence, including the Veteran’s medical records. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295 (2008). The Board notes there are no medical opinions of record supporting that the Veteran’s left hip disorder is associated with service. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s lay contentions, including that he carried heavy artillery throughout service which led to his left hip condition. However, as a lay person, he has not shown that he has specialized training sufficient to render such an opinion. In this regard, the etiology of his left hip osteoarthritis is a matter not capable of lay observation and requires medical expertise to determine. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Therefore, the Veteran’s opinion as to the etiology of his left hip disorder is afforded less probative weight than the May 2018 VA medical opinion. Additionally, the Board acknowledges the July 2020 representative’s brief which indicated the left hip disorder was worsened by the Veteran’s service-connected back disorder. However, as noted above, the Veteran is not service connected for a back disability. As such, the representative’s brief is less persuasive than the May 2018 VA medical opinion. In sum, the Board finds after review of all the evidence of record, that the preponderance of the evidence is against the service connection claim; thus, the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine is not applicable. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. As such, service connection for a left hip disorder is not warranted. RYAN T. KESSEL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Isaacs, 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.