Citation Nr: A20007351 Decision Date: 04/30/20 Archive Date: 04/30/20 DOCKET NO. 190923-33260 DATE: April 30, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, including as secondary to lumbosacral strain, is denied. Entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy, including as secondary to lumbosacral strain, is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran does not have a diagnosis of a left lower extremity radiculopathy disability. 2. The Veteran does not have a diagnosis of a right lower extremity radiculopathy disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.310. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 1113, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served in the U.S. Army from January 1979 to November 2000. These matters are before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2019 rating decision that considered the evidence of record on that date. The Veteran timely appealed this decision to the Board by a VA 10182 Notice of Disagreement, and requested the Appeals Modernization Act Direct Review lane for reevaluation of the evidence considered by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction. The Veteran contends entitlement to service connection for radiculopathy of both the lower left and lower right extremities, as due to his service-connected lumbar strain. 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. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). 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). Establishing service connection generally requires competent evidence of three things: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship, i.e., a nexus, between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show (1) that a current disability exists and (2) that the current disability was either (a) proximately caused by or (b) aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). There is no evidence that suggest the Veteran has been diagnosed with radiculopathy of either the left or right lower extremities. The Veteran’s service treatment records are silent as to any diagnosis or treatment of radiculopathy. Additionally, all medical records assert that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of radiculopathy. During an August 2019 VA examination, the Veteran reported intermittent tingling and numbness in both legs, and pain radiating down from the lower back. The VA examiner noted the Veteran’s reported symptoms of radicular pain. However, the examiner found that there was no objective evidence to support a diagnosis of a specific peripheral nerve condition, including lower extremity radiculopathy on either side. Similar findings of no diagnosis are consistent throughout the Veteran’s medical records. A June 2019 VA examination also noted no radiculopathy. Additionally, a January 2017 evaluation also stated that there was no objective evidence of radiculopathy. Examiners have acknowledged the Veteran’s reported symptoms, but all have concluded that there is no evidence of a current disability. The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s accounts that his lower radiculopathy was secondary to his service-connected lumbar strain. However, secondary service connection still requires a currently diagnosed disorder; and there is no diagnosis of radiculopathy for either lower extremity. While he is competent to report symptoms and describe his observations, the Veteran is not competent to diagnose lower extremity radiculopathy, as this diagnosis requires medical expertise and is outside the realm of common knowledge of a layperson. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). As noted above, service connection may only be granted for a current disability. As there is no confirmed current diagnosis of radiculopathy of either lower extremity, neither direct or secondary service connection is applicable and service connection is not otherwise warranted. Such competent evidence has been provided by the medical personnel who have examined the Veteran during his current appeal. As the clinicians have the requisite medical expertise to render medical diagnoses and determinations, and had sufficient facts and data on which to base the conclusions, the Board attaches greater probative weight to the VA examinations and to the clinical findings than to the subjective accounts that have been submitted. For these reasons, the preponderance of the evidence is against these two service connection claims; and there are no doubts to be resolved. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). Accordingly, the claim for service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities is denied. DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Ferrando 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.