Citation Nr: 0002620 Decision Date: 02/02/00 Archive Date: 02/10/00 DOCKET NO. 98-18 232 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Cleveland, Ohio THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for seizures. 2. Entitlement to service connection for depression. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Hugh F. "Trey" Daly, Attorney- at-Law WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD B.E. Jordan, Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active military service from May 1971 to May 1973. This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) arises from a rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio. FINDINGS OF FACT The claims for service connection for seizures and depression are not plausible. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW The claim for service connection for seizures is not well grounded. 38 U.S.C.A § 5107(a) (West 1991). The claim for service connection for depression is not well grounded. 38 U.S.C.A § 5107(a) (West 1991). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The threshold question to be answered with respect to this appeal is whether the appellant has presented evidence of a well-grounded claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a). A well-grounded claim is a claim that is plausible, that is, one that is meritorious on its own or capable of substantiation. Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 78, 81 (1990). If a claim is not well grounded, the appeal must fail with respect to it, and there is no duty to assist the appellant further in the development of facts pertinent to the claim. Id., 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a); Grottveit v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 91 (1993); Tirpak v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 609 (1992). The initial burden is on the claimant to produce evidence of a well-grounded claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a); see Grivois v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 136 (1994); Grottveit at 92; Tirpak at 610-11. Where a determinative issue involves medical causation or a medical diagnosis, competent medical evidence to the effect that the claim is plausible or possible is required. Grottveit at 92-93. Further, in order for a claim to be considered plausible, and therefore well grounded, there must be evidence of a current disability (a medical diagnosis), of incurrence or aggravation of a disease or an injury in service (lay or medical evidence), and medical evidence of a nexus between the inservice injury or disease and a current disability. Epps. v. Gober, 126 F.3d 1464, 1468 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 506 (1995), aff'd 78 F.3rd 604 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (per curiam), Rabideau v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 141, 143 (1992); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992); Cuevas v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 542, 548 (1992). Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. 38 U.S.C.A. § 1110 (West 1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (1999). Certain diseases, including psychosis and epilepsies, may be presumed incurred in service if shown to have manifested to a compensable degree within one year after the date of separation from service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113 (West 1991 & Supp. 1999); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309 (1999). The veteran maintains, in essence, that he developed epileptic seizures during service and that the disorder is related to service. Specifically, the veteran testified at a personal hearing in May 1999 that he blacked out in 1972 and he believed that the blackout was a seizure. The veteran stated that he did not seek medical care because he was not certain if the occurrence was alcohol or drug induced. The report of a separation examination dated in May 1973 reflects a medical history of dizziness or fainting spells. Clinical findings were normal. Post service medical records beginning in 1975 show that the veteran appeared to have experienced a grand mal seizure. Subsequent, VA and private medical records reflect treatment for seizures and a diagnosis including history of epilepsy. A VA medical record dated in February 1979 reflects a medical history of seizures approximately 1 1/2 years ago after drug use. While the record establishes that the veteran has a seizure disorder, there is no competent medical evidence attributing such a disorder to service. The Board has considered the veteran's testimony with respect this claim. However, the veteran, as a lay person, is not qualified to furnish medical opinions or diagnoses. Espiritu v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 492, 494-95 (1992). Thus, the veteran's personal belief that a relationship exists between the claimed disability and military service cannot serve to prove that the disability for which the veteran claims service connection was incurred in or aggravated by service. In the absence of competent medical opinion drawing an etiological relationship between the epileptic seizures and service, the Board must find that the claim is not well grounded. Epps. v. Gober at 1468; Caluza v. Brown at 506; Grottveit v. Brown at 93. Moreover, the veteran is not entitled to service connection for seizures on a presumptive basis since the evidence reflects that the veteran was first seen for seizures in 1975, approximately two years after the veteran separated from service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. Although the veteran and his representative asserted at the personal hearing that the veteran was treated for seizures in 1973 (shortly after the veteran separated from service), they have not identified any medical evidence or presented any medical to support that proposition. Likewise, the claim for service connection for depression is not plausible. The veteran asserts that he developed depression as a result of service. The report of the separation examination shows a history of nervous trouble. Clinical findings were normal. Post service VA and private treatment records show a diagnosis for depression beginning in 1975; however, there is no competent medical evidence linking depression to service. In fact, a VA examiner in May 1996 opined that the depression was not related to service. The Board has considered the veteran's testimony and contentions with respect to the etiology of the depression. In the absence of competent medical evidence linking depression to service, the Board must conclude that claim is not capable of substantiation. Epps. v. Gober at 1468; Caluza v. Brown at 506; Grottveit v. Brown at 93. In addition, the evidence does not establish that the veteran was diagnosed as having a psychosis within a year after separation from service. Therefore, service connection on a presumptive basis is not for application in this matter. ORDER Service connection for seizures is denied. Service connection for depression is denied. F. JUDGE FLOWERS Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals