Citation Nr: 21029413 Decision Date: 05/13/21 Archive Date: 05/13/21 DOCKET NO. 18-21 768 DATE: May 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a back disorder, to include degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and spinal stenosis, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's current back disorder, identified as degenerative arthritis and spinal stenosis, first developed more than a year after discharge from service and is not related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a back disorder, to include degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and spinal stenosis, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from October 1950 to July 1952. The Veteran's claim comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2017 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and for a back disorder were remanded by the Board in September 2020. In December 2020 the RO granted the Veteran service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Only the Veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder remains in appellate status before the Board. As explained below, the Board finds that service connection for the Veteran's back disorder, to include degenerative arthritis and spinal stenosis, is not warranted. A veteran is entitled to VA disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an 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, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may also be granted for disability first diagnosed after service, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, shows that it was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service incurrence or aggravation of arthritis may be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated if the disability is manifested to a compensable degree within one year of a veteran's discharge from service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. In this case, there is no presumed service connection because arthritis of the spine was not medically diagnosed within one year of discharge. At his November 2019 hearing, the Veteran reported that he never injured his back during service. He asserted that he developed arthritis of the spine due to his wintertime service in Korea. He said that he had to lay on ice in a foxhole and he maintains that his spinal arthritis was caused by his cold exposure in the foxhole. The Veteran reported that a VA doctor had told him that his arthritis was caused by his laying on ice in a foxhole. He did not know the name of the doctor. At the hearing the Veteran was advised that he could submit a statement from a medical professional that supported his claim. No such statement was received from the Veteran. The Veteran's service treatment records, including the July 1952 discharge examination report, reveal no back complaints or treatment. The Veteran received VA treatment for pain in the base of his neck in November 1967. The Veteran reported that in 1957 he had had low back pain. The assessment included rule out lumbar spine arthritis with disc syndrome. X-rays of the lumbosacral spine in November 1967 were negative to arthritis and showed that disc spaces were normal. When provided a VA thoracolumbar spine examination in December 2016 the Veteran reported that he had had lower back pain since 1957. He denied ever having back pain or a back injury during service. The VA examiner diagnosed osteoarthritis of the lumbosacral spine and spinal stenosis and opined that they were not related to service. The examiner noted that there was no history of a back injury, or any other injury, during service and that all the testing was more consistent with spinal stenosis of the lumbosacral spine secondary to osteophytes. A VA clinician reviewed the Veteran's records in November 2020. She opined that the Veteran's back condition was unrelated to service. She also opined that the Veteran's osteophytes were not present during service or caused by service. The VA clinician again reviewed the Veteran's medical records in January 2021. She opined that the Veteran's chronic low back pain was less likely than not related to laying down in an ice filled foxhole. The Board has considered the Veteran's contentions that he currently has a back disorder due to cold exposure during service in Korea. Although lay persons are competent to provide opinions on some medical issues, the etiology of the Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the spine and spinal stenosis is outside the realm of common knowledge of a lay person. See Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428, 435 (2011); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran's statements of record cannot be accepted as competent evidence sufficient to establish service connection for a back disorder. The Board notes that the STRs showing no back complaints, the Veteran's report that he first experienced back pain in 1957, and the November 1967 spine x-rays showing no abnormalities, all support the December 2016, November 2020 and January 2021 VA negative medical opinions. In this case the most probative evidence includes the VA medical opinions against the Veteran's claim. The VA clinicians opined that the Veteran's back disorder is not related to service, including the Veteran's laying on ice in foxholes in Korea. The record contains no medical evidence or other probative evidence to the contrary. Accordingly, the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim and service connection for a back disorder, to include degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine and spinal stenosis, is not warranted. See Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. E. Jones, 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.