BVA Case 07-0882: Psychiatric

, through counsel,appeals a November 28,2006,Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)decision in which the Board denied his claim for entitlement to service connection for left and right knee disabilities,and for bursitis of the left hip.

In March 2006,the Board found the 2003 VA medical opinion speculative in nature and inadequate for adjudication purposes, and remanded the case to the RO to obtain another medical opinion.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for his right knee disability,finding the 2006 VA medical opinion more probative than the 2003 opinion because the 2003 opinion appears to be based on history provided by the veteran instead of a review of the veteran's claims folder and service medical records.

The Board denied service connection for the appellant's left knee condition because the SMRs did not indicate any left knee injuries in service and his postservice 3 knee surgery occurred in 1997, after the veteran's discharge from active duty.

Relying on the 2006 medical opinion,the Board denied service connection for the appellant's hip condition, stating that the appellant does not have a current left hip disability.

The Board found that the SMRs were silent for any indication of a left hip disorder and that [t]he record is also void of any medical opinion linking a left hip disability to an injury or occurrence in service.

The appellant filed a brief and a reply brief in which he argues that (1)the Board breached its duty to assist by accepting a medical nexus opinion [that]failed to discuss all of the evidence in the record supporting the claim ;(2)the Board breached its duty to assist by not obtaining relevant records from Social Security Administration (SSA)and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office;(3) the Board's statement of reasons or bases for denying the appellant's knee claims was inadequate; and (4)the Board failed to adequately address the appellant's hip claim as a current disability as defined by the Court's caselaw.

The Secretary asserts that VA complied with its duty to assist because (1)it provided the appellant with an adequate medical examination in 2006 and (2)it is not required to obtain records that are not relevant to the appellant's claim.