10-47 633, 10-47 633

Veteran served active duty Sep 1960–Sep 1964 and appealed an April 2009 RO denial of service connection for a left foot disorder.
Service records: enlistment and separation exams (Aug 1960, Aug 1964) showed normal feet; service treatment records document motor-vehicle accidents and a left tibial laceration but no documented left foot injury; left foot x‑ray in service was negative.
Postservice treatment: Veteran reported seeing a private podiatrist in the 1970s, but VA records show first left foot complaints in 2008 with left first metatarsophalangeal joint arthroplasty that year.
Veteran testified at a 2014 Board hearing that his foot swelled after the in‑service car accident and progressively worsened; he did not seek consistent treatment until decades after discharge.
VA obtained a February 2015 examination and a July 2016 addendum opinion concluding it is "less likely than not" the left foot disorder is related to service; no medical nexus opinion favoring service connection exists.
Board found the preponderance of evidence against service connection and denied the claim, applying reasonable‑doubt doctrine but finding it inapplicable because evidence weighed against the Veteran.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Service connection for left foot disorder	Veteran contends left foot injury resulted from an in‑service motor vehicle accident and later required an implant	VA/Board contends service records lack any left foot diagnosis or treatment, separation exam normal, first VA foot complaint in 2008, and VA examiners found no nexus	Denied — preponderance of evidence against service connection

Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (elements required to establish service connection)
Scott v. McDonald, 789 F.3d 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (VA duty to assist and related procedural considerations)
Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (lay evidence competent for symptoms but not for medical diagnosis/etiology)
Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (Vet. App. 1990) (application of the benefit‑of‑the‑doubt rule)