BVA Case 10-0397: Back

This evaluation did not provide a medical opinion regarding a nexus between Mr.

The Board found that there was medical evidence of record that Mr.

However,the Board found that a lack of in-service complaint of or treatment for hernia outweighs his lay statements that he began experiencing symptoms while in service.

Finally,the Board found that no post-service medical evidence of record supported a nexus between Mr.

Thus, the Board concluded that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim.

To comply with this requirement, the Board must analyze the credibility and probative value of the evidence,account for the evidence that it finds to be persuasive or unpersuasive,and provide the reasons for its rejection of any material evidence favorable to the claimant.

]2006)(finding that the Board may weigh the absence of contemporaneous medical evidence against the lay evidence in determining credibility,but the Board cannot determine that lay evidence lacks credibility merely because it is unaccompanied by contemporaneous medical evidence).

In Buchanan ,the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) explained that the Board may weigh the absence of contemporaneous medical evidence against the lay evidence of record but that it may not determine that lay evidence lacks credibility merely because it is unaccompanied by contemporaneous medical evidence.