Citation Nr: 21076536 Decision Date: 12/27/21 Archive Date: 12/27/21 DOCKET NO. 17-26 411 DATE: December 27, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hallux valgus of the right foot is denied. FINDING OF FACT The competent and credible evidence does not demonstrate that the Veteran has a current diagnosis for a right foot disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for hallux valgus of the right foot have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from May 1996 to September 2002. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Most recently, in April 2020, the Board, in pertinent part, remanded the issue on appeal for additional development. As the actions specified in the remand have been substantially completed, the matter has been properly returned to the Board for appellate consideration. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998); D'Aries v. Peake, 22Vet. App. 97, 105 (2008). Duties to Notify and Assist Pursuant to the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA), VA has duties to notify and assist claimants in substantiating a claim for VA benefits. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5102, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.156(a), 3.159. Neither the Veteran nor her representative has raised any issues with the duty to notify or duty to assist. See Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (holding that "the Board's obligation to read filings in a liberal manner does not require the Board . . . to search the record and address procedural arguments when the veteran fails to raise them before the Board."); Dickens v. McDonald, 814 F.3d 1359, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (applying Scott to a duty to assist argument). Service Connection 1. Entitlement to service connection for hallux valgus of the right foot The Veteran generally asserts that she warrants service connection for hallux valgus of the right foot. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, service connection requires: (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. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004); see also Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498 (1995). Service connection may also be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when the evidence establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The question before the Board is whether the Veteran has a current diagnosis for a right foot disability. Based on a careful review of all the subjective and clinical evidence, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs against finding service connection for hallux valgus of the right foot is warranted. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) document the Veteran's right foot problems. A May 1996 STR reflects that the Veteran sought treatment for bilateral foot pain. Minor blisters to the big toe area of the right foot and the heels of both feet were found on objective evaluation. The Veteran was diagnosed with blisters and metatarsalgia. A December 1996 STR reflects that the Veteran sought treatment for complaints of bumps on right sole of foot for the past two weeks. She was also occasionally painful with ambulation. Upon objective evaluation, the Veteran had two 0.5 centimeter plantar warts in the mid right heel pad. The Veteran was diagnosed with plantar warts. At a June 2002 Medical Board examination, the Veteran had normal feet clinical evaluation results, and no pertinent right foot symptomatology was identified on her associated report of medical history. Post-service VA treatment records do not document any complaints or treatment for any right foot problems. At a January 2015 VA examination, the VA examiner noted that on questioning, the Veteran specifically denied any pain or problems with the right foot. Upon objective evaluation, the January 2015 VA examiner found that the Veteran had no right foot pain on physical examination and no functional loss for right lower extremity attributable to claimed condition. The January 2015 VA examiner also found that the Veteran had mild hallux valgus on the right without tenderness or soft tissue swelling. The January 2015 VA examiner diagnosed the Veteran with hallux valgus of the right foot. At a June 2019 VA examination, the Veteran reported that her right foot began hurting in 1999, but she did not currently have any right foot pain. Upon objective evaluation, the VA examiner found that the Veteran had mild or moderate symptoms of hallux valgus of the right foot. There was no right foot pain on physical examination. No functional loss for the right lower extremity attributable to claimed condition was noted. A July 2019 right foot x-ray was negative. The June 2019 VA examiner diagnosed the Veteran with hallux valgus of the right foot. At an October 2020 VA examination, the Veteran did not report having right foot pain or any functional loss or functional impairment. The Veteran also denied any issues or related signs and symptoms associated to the right foot. Upon objective evaluation, the October 2020 VA examiner found that the Veteran had no right foot pain on physical examination and no functional loss for right lower extremity attributable to claimed condition. The October 2020 VA examiner noted that the Veteran's past right foot x-rays had negative findings, were unremarkable, and showed no arthritis. Overall, the October 2020 VA examiner concluded that there was no diagnosis for hallux valgus of the right foot and did not identify any other right foot diagnosis. Furthermore, the October 2020 VA examiner documented that the Veteran said that the "VA has it wrong, her claimed condition is for the left foot hallux valgus." As a preliminary matter, the Board recognizes that the record includes conflicting medical evidence concerning whether the Veteran has a current diagnosis for hallux valgus of the right foot. With regard to the medical opinions obtained, as with all types of evidence, it is the Board's responsibility to weigh the conflicting medical evidence to reach a conclusion as to the ultimate grant of service connection. Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991). The Board may favor the opinion of one competent medical expert over another if its statement of reasons and bases is adequate to support that decision. Owens v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 429, 433 (1995). Stated another way, the Board decides, in the first instance, which of the competing medical opinions or examination reports is more probative of the medical question at issue. Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 300 (2008). In this case, the Board finds that the October 2020 VA examiner's opinion provides the most probative evidence as to the Veteran's right foot diagnosis. On that basis, the October 2020 VA examiner's conclusion that the Veteran did not have a right foot diagnosis, to include hallux valgus of the right foot, was based on clinical findings, diagnostic testing results of the right foot, which were unremarkable, and the Veteran's own report that she denied any having right foot symptoms. Notably, at the October 2020 VA examination, the Veteran reported no signs or symptoms associated with her right foot and indicated that she was not seeking a claim for her right foot. Although the January 2015 and June 2019 VA examiners diagnosed the Veteran with hallux valgus of the right foot, those diagnoses were not supported by the negative right foot x-rays in July 2019. Thus, the Board finds that the January 2015 and June 2019 VA examiners diagnoses of hallux valgus of the right foot to be less persuasive given the lack of objective evidence to support their conclusions. Accordingly, the Board concludes that the October 2020 VA examiner's finding is the more persuasive evidence, and the Veteran does not have a right foot diagnosis. (Continued on the next page) The Veteran is certainly competent to report her history of right foot problems and any treatment that she may have undergone. Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 470 (1994). However, the Veteran has not demonstrated that she has the requisite specialized knowledge or training to diagnose hallux valgus of the right foot. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Veteran has not presented any competent and credible evidence of a current diagnosis for hallux valgus of the right foot, and the available evidence does not support that she has any persistent symptomatology that would suggest that she has an underlying chronic disability. Rather, the Veteran has indicated that she has no right foot symptoms. Accordingly, the Veteran's assertions that she has a current diagnosis for hallux valgus of the right foot have little probative value. In summary, the preponderance of the evidence weighs against finding in favor of the Veteran's service connection claim for hallux valgus of the right foot. Therefore, the benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply, and the service connection claim must be denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Journet Shaw, 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.