Citation Nr: 21076993 Decision Date: 12/28/21 Archive Date: 12/28/21 DOCKET NO. 17-38 930 DATE: December 28, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a right foot condition, other than the service connected right lower extremity disability, is denied. Entitlement to service connection for a left foot condition, other than the service connected left lower extremity disability, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence of record is against finding that the Veteran has had a right or left foot condition, other than the already service connected right and left lower extremity disabilities, at any time during or approximate to the pendency of these claims. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for a right foot condition, other than the service connected right lower extremity disability, are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for a left foot condition, other than the service connected left lower extremity disability, are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served in the United States Army from July 1970 to February 1972. He had service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era from June 1971 to February 1972. The matters on appeal come before the Board from an April 2014 rating decision. The Veteran provided hearing testimony before the undersigned in October 2019. A transcript of that hearing is within the claims file. In March 2020, the Board issued a decision denying the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left foot conditions, and remanding the claims for service connection for Parkinson's Disease, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, memory loss, a bowel/colon disorder, muscle deterioration, and a psychiatric disorder. The Veteran appealed the denials of service connection for the left and right feet to the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims (Court). In March 2021, the Court signed an Order granting a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (joint motion). The decisions related to the right and left feet were vacated and remanded for additional action. The issues that were remanded by the Board in March 2020 were all awarded service connection by way of an August 2021 rating decision. These were full grants of the matters on appeal and these issues are, therefore, no longer before the Board. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166 -67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). As to the initial element for service connection, the presence of a current disability, the Veteran's claims file does not include any treatment related to a left or right foot disability, other than the symptoms of the Veteran's service connected lower extremity disabilities. At the time of the October 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran suggested that he was not claiming that a left or right foot disorder was present outside of the neuropathy and muscular issues separately claimed. However, a review of the March 2021 joint motion reveals the Veteran, by way of his representative, has argued that his Board testimony attributing some of his foot symptoms to his claimed peripheral neuropathy and muscle deterioration was not intended to limit the symptoms to those claimed disorders. Thus, the Veteran is claiming service connection for right and left foot disorders other than the peripheral neuropathy and muscular deterioration. In accordance with the joint motion, the Board remanded these issues for a VA examination to assess the nature and etiology of any right or left foot condition other than the claimed peripheral neuropathy or the claimed muscular issues. The Veteran underwent a VA examination in September 2021. The examiner confirmed that the only diagnosis present related to his feet is peripheral neuropathy. The symptoms associated with his feet were noted to include tremors, a dull sensation, and weakness. The Veteran is already service connected for left and right lower extremity disabilities characterized as including bradykinesia, mild tremor, severe rigidity, atrophy, peripheral neuropathy, and weakness. Thus, the September 2021 VA examiner essentially confirmed that there is no right or left foot disability present other than the already service-connected lower extremity disabilities. The Board concludes that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a right or left foot disability, other than the already service connected lower extremity disabilities, and has not had such a diagnosis at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim. Romanowsky v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 289, 294 (2013); McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319, 321 (2007). While the Veteran believes he has a current diagnosis of separate right and left foot disabilities, he is not competent to provide a diagnosis in this case. The issue is medically complex, as it requires specialized medical education and the ability to interpret complicated diagnostic medical testing. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Consequently, the Board gives more probative weight to the competent medical evidence. As the Veteran has not shown a current disability for which service connection can be granted, the claim for service connection for right and left foot disabilities must be denied. "Congress specifically limits entitlement to service-connected disease or injury where such cases have resulted in a disability....in the absence of a proof of present disability there can be no valid claim." Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). The Board has duly considered the benefit of the doubt doctrine; however, the preponderance of the evidence is against the claims, so that doctrine is not applicable. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; see also Gilbert, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Accordingly, the appeal with regard to the right and left foot condition claims is denied. MICHAEL E. KILCOYNE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Adamson, 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.