Citation Nr: 21027959 Decision Date: 05/07/21 Archive Date: 05/07/21 DOCKET NO. 15-16 986 DATE: May 7, 2021 ORDER Service connection for a left ankle muscle injury is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a current left ankle muscle injury. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a left ankle muscle injury 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 November 1983 to March 1984. The matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2012 rating decision. In December 2015, the Veteran testified at a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. In January 2021, the Veteran was notified that the Veterans Law Judge had since retired, and he had the right to a new hearing in front of another Veterans Law Judge. The Veteran did not respond; accordingly, a new hearing is not warranted. In April 2020, the Board remanded the matter for VA examinations and an addendum medical opinion. The Board finds there was substantial compliance with the remand directives and no further remand is necessary. The Veteran seeks service connection for a left ankle muscle injury. The Board finds, however, that there is no evidence of a current disability. VA medical records are associated with the claims file. Despite extensive treatment for the left ankle, there is no evidence of a muscle injury, including in the February 2017 MRI and January 2019 x-ray. The Veteran was also afforded numerous ankle examinations during the appeal period and December 2013, July 2019, January 2020, and December 2020 VA examinations were negative for a muscle injury. In his medical opinion, the December 2020 examiner measured the Veteran's ankles and found that they had the same circumferential measurement. He concluded that there was no evidence of a muscle injury. The Board considered the November 2015 private evaluation by Dr. B. The evaluation revealed, among other issues, abnormal movement and weakened movement due to muscle injury and atrophied muscles. The Board finds, however, that the other medical evidence outweighs the evaluation and it is not persuasive. Specifically, the July 2019 peripheral nerves conditions and muscle injuries examinations, January 2020 ankle conditions examination, and December 2020 muscle injuries and ankle conditions examinations documented no evidence of muscle atrophy. VA medical records were negative for muscle atrophy, and a private July 2013 record revealed no evidence of atrophy. The Board further considered the evidence of muscle weakness. The July 2019 and December 2020 muscle injuries examinations revealed 4/5 muscle strength for left ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. The Board finds that this is a symptom, not equivalent to a current disability. Moreover, weakness is a symptom associated with the Veteran's service-connected left tibial and peroneal neuropathy and left ankle fracture residuals, as documented in the July 2019 peripheral neuropathy conditions examination and January 2020 ankle conditions examination. Thus, this finding does not constitute a distinct muscle injury that warrants service connection. Finally, the Board notes that the April 2020 Board decision cast doubt on the probity of the July 2019 VA examinations (incorrectly referenced in that decision as September 2019, which was date of receipt into the file). The Board finds that those examinations are probative because the examiner clearly considered the private November 2015 medical record as she detailed the record in the muscle injuries and peripheral nerves examination reports. Moreover, the examiner found no evidence of muscle atrophy or injury after conducting an in-person examination, and such findings are supported by the other probative medical evidence. To the extent the July 2019 nexus opinion is inadequate, the Board did not rely on it because there is no evidence of a current disability. Service connection may only be granted for a current disability; when a claimed condition is not shown, there may be no grant of service connection. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110; Rabideau v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 141 (1992). Accordingly, the claim for service connection for a left ankle muscle injury is denied. MICHELLE L. KANE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Lavan 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.