Citation Nr: 21031998 Decision Date: 05/25/21 Archive Date: 05/25/21 DOCKET NO. 16-48 166 DATE: May 25, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a left ankle disability is denied. FINDING OF FACT The most probative evidence reflects that the Veteran's left ankle disability was not shown in service and is not causally or etiologically related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for a left ankle disability have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1980 to May 1983. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision. The Veteran alleges that her current left ankle disability is etiologically related to active duty service. Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 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). The question for the Board is whether the Veteran has a current disability that began during service or is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The Board concludes that, while the Veteran has a current diagnosis of ankle disability, the preponderance of the evidence weighs against finding that the Veteran's ankle disability began during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. Available post-service treatment records first note complaints regarding the ankle in approximately 2007. At that time, in connection with treatment, the Veteran denied any history of trauma to the ankle. The ankle issue was noted to have resolved by March 2008. In December 2012 she reported left ankle swelling and reported having slipped on ice nine months prior and twisted her left ankle. Subsequently, in April 2015, the Veteran reported she injured her ankle at work in approximately the 1990s. There is no available documentation for this alleged injury, nor were any residuals noted in the available treatment records. In fact, July 2015 imaging of her left ankle demonstrated no abnormalities. Here, there is no competent and credible evidence of a nexus between the Veteran's current left ankle disorder and service. The only evidence of record in support of such a nexus is the Veteran's lay opinion that his current ankle problems are due to service. The Veteran is certainly competent to report as to the observable symptoms she experiences and their history, but she cannot diagnose an ankle disorder because of the medically complex nature of such a diagnosis. See Jandreau, 492 F.3d at 1377, n. 4. The Veteran has not been shown to possess specialized training sufficient to render such an opinion. Accordingly, the Veteran's assertions as to a relationship between her ankle complaints, initially noted many decades after service, and service are of little probative value. Moreover, whether the symptoms the Veteran experienced in service or following service are in any way related to her current ankle disability is a matter that requires medical expertise to determine. See Clyburn v. West, 12 Vet. App. 296, 301 (1999) ("Although the Veteran is competent to testify to the pain he has experienced since his tour in the Persian Gulf, he is not competent to testify to the fact that what he experienced in service and since service is the same condition he is currently diagnosed with."). Additionally, to the extent the Veteran is asserting continuity of symptomatology from service, the Board finds such statements inconsistent with the overall record. Particularly, the service treatment records that fail to support her contentions. Moreover, she has provided inconsistent reports to treating providers regarding onset of symptoms, to include multiple post-service injuries. Based on the contents of the Veteran's service and post-service records and her reported history, the Board finds that any contentions regarding continuous symptoms since service are not accurate, and thus, those assertions in this regard are afforded little probative value. A VA examination or medical opinion regarding the etiology of her claimed ankle was not indicated as there is no suggestion that the Veteran's current disability may be associated with service. Again, there is no competent evidence of an ankle disability in service or within one year following discharge from service. Moreover, there is no competent and probative evidence to show that the Veteran had an ankle disability, during or contemporaneous with service and no competent and probative evidence that her current disorder is related to her service. Given the foregoing, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for a left ankle disability and that the claim must be denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b). John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board V. Woehlke 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.