Citation Nr: 21007685 Decision Date: 02/10/21 Archive Date: 02/10/21 DOCKET NO. 17-09 490 DATE: February 10, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a concussion, to include residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis for a TBI, or residuals of a TBI. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for TBI, to include TBI residuals, 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 had active military service from February 1973 to February 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In September 2019, the Veteran testified before the undersigned at a Board hearing. The transcript of the hearing is of record. This matter was previously remanded by the Board in March 2020 for additional development. That development was completed, and the matter has since been returned for further appellate review. The Board also notes that additional treatment records were associated with the claims file following the March 2020 Board decision. A supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) was not issued. However, the Board notes that in the January 2021 appellate brief, the Veteran, through his representative, acknowledged the absence of a SSOC, and waived RO consideration of that evidence. See January 2021 Appellate Brief. As such, the Board may proceed with adjudication. See 38 C.F.R. § 19.37. Entitlement to service connection for a concussion, to include residuals of TBI. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated during service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In order to establish entitlement to service connection, there must be (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal connection between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). In the September 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that as a result of his in-service head injury during a June 1973 motor vehicle accident, he subsequently experienced intermittent headaches and blurry vision. He reported that this lasted probably the duration of his military service and gradually subsided and became less frequent until the symptoms finally dissipated. He reported current symptoms of occasional blurry eyes. See September 2019 Hearing Transcript. Despite the Veteran’s contentions, based on a review of the record, the Board finds that the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for residuals of a TBI as the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that there is no currently diagnosed disability attributed to any in-service head injury. A review of the service treatment records (STRs) while on active duty shows no complaint of any chronic concussion-related symptoms. Although STRs in July 1973 revealed the Veteran had been injured in a motor vehicle accident in June 1973, x-rays of the skull were noted as normal and the record noted the Veteran felt ok at the time of the July 1973 evaluation. Additionally, at the January 1975 separation report of medical examination, the Veteran’s head was noted as normal on clinical evaluation. Although in a January 1975 separation report of medical history, the reviewing examiner noted the Veteran’s head injury in an auto accident, the examiner also found there was no permanent injury. The Veteran also denied a history of frequent or severe headache, eye trouble, periods of unconsciousness, or dizziness or fainting spells on the January 1975 separation report of medical history. See September 2015 STR – Medical. After his service, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in February 2016. See February 2016 C&P Exam. During examination, the Veteran reported that in early June 1973, he was driving a car and his car was struck by a drunk driver. The Veteran indicated that he was wearing a lap belt during the accident and claimed he was unconscious for an unknown period of time. He reported that he initially had sharp pains in the head and that these had lasted for a few weeks and then he felt they resolved. The Veteran stated he had blurred vision and headaches. The examiner noted that there was no objective evidence of any residuals and there is no evidence of loss of consciousness to diagnose a TBI without residuals. On examination, the examiner noted there were no complaints of impairment of memory, attention, concentration, or executive functions. The Veteran judgment was noted as normal, his social interaction was routinely appropriate, and he was always oriented to person, time, place, and situation. Further, his motor activity was noted as normal, his visual spatial orientation was noted as normal, there were no subjective symptoms noted, no neurobehavior effects were noted, no communication issues were noted, and he had normal consciousness. The examiner noted that there was no evidence of loss of consciousness in the medical records and the Veterans scored normal on MMSE. After examination, the examiner found no TBI that could be diagnosed and therefore no service connection can be made. As such, the examiner opined that it is less likely than not that the Veteran’s claimed traumatic brain injury to include concussion and residuals was incurred in or caused by the motor vehicle accident during service. (Continued on the next page)   Although the Veteran reported subjective intermittent blurry vision and headaches, the Board affords more probative value to the February 2016 VA examiner’s assessment as there is insufficient evidence to warrant or confirm a diagnosis of any residuals from a TBI. Although the Veteran is competent to report intermittent blurry vision and headaches, he is not competent to attribute any current residuals to such in-service head injury or opine as to the etiology of his intermittent blurry vision and headaches. Instead, post-service treatment records have not indicated any reports of headaches and any vision problems have been associated with diagnosed nonservice-connected conditions of glaucoma and cataracts. See June 2020 Medical Treatment Record – Non-Government Facility. The Veteran also denied in a December 2018 private treatment record complaints of chronic headaches, seizures, numbness, or loss of consciousness. See id. The Board also notes that during the September 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran has otherwise indicated his symptoms resolved by reporting he either outgrew the symptoms or that his brain had healed. See September 2019 Hearing Transcript. The Board notes that the existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; see Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328, 1332 (1997) (holding that interpretation of sections 1110 and 1131 of the statute as requiring the existence of a present disability for VA compensation purposes cannot be considered arbitrary). Evidence must show that the Veteran currently has the disability for which benefits are being claimed. Here, however, as noted above, the evidence does not establish that the Veteran currently experiences any residuals of a TBI. In the absence of a current disability, the analysis ends, and the claim for service connection for the residuals of a TBI cannot be granted. See Gilpin v. West, 155 F.3d 1353 (Fed. Cir. 1998); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). S. HENEKS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Cheng, 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.