BVA Case 23-0107: Back

And the Board recognized that the veteran was competent to report his symptoms and to report,years after separation, when he was diagnosed with arthritis,but the Board found that the veteran was not competent to relate his back disability to service.

The Board found that the separation examination noted mechanical back pain and the veteran's endorsement of recurrent back pain,but no chronic disability,and the Board found the examination highly probative.

The Board also assigned high probative weight to the May 2013 VA examiner's negative nexus opinion.

The Board found that the veteran's private physician did not opine that there was a nexus between current left elbow impairment and the veteran's treatment for left elbow cellulitis in service, given a lack of recurrence.

The Board noted that the veteran had failed to report for a scheduled VA hip examination, and that the claim would be decided on the evidence of record.

The Board explained that no arthritis,rheumatism,or bursitis was noted at separation,and the Board assign[ed]the most probative weight to the comprehensive examination results with negative nexus opinions from the 6 May 2013 VA examiner.

The Board concluded that direct and presumptive service connection was not warranted for a back, hip,or left elbow disability,finding that the disabilities were not manifest within service or within one year from separation, and that the May 2013 examination and contemporaneous treatment records weighed against continuity of symptomatology.

The Board acknowledged that the veteran complained of left knee pain in service and was diagnosed with left knee strain in 1996,but the Board noted that his separation examination the following year revealed no abnormality.