Citation Nr: 18144111 Decision Date: 10/23/18 Archive Date: 10/23/18 DOCKET NO. 15-42 714 DATE: October 23, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for diverticulitis, claimed as secondary to colon cancer is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s diagnosis of diverticulitis is not shown to be to have been caused or aggravated by service-connected colon cancer. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for diverticulitis as secondary to colon cancer has not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from March 1966 to January 1970. This matter comes before the Board on appeal from a July 2013 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 1. Entitlement to service connection for diverticulitis, claimed as secondary to colon cancer is denied Service connection is granted for disability resulting from disease or injury that was incurred in or aggravated by active service. C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Additionally, service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran has claimed that his diagnosis of diverticulitis is a result of his service-connected colon cancer. However, the Veteran has not asserted that his diverticulitis is directly connected to his service, nor does any of the provided medical documentation suggest a plausible direct service connection. Moreover, diverticulitis is not one of the diseases presumed to have been caused by herbicide exposure under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(c). Therefore, an analysis of direct service connection is not warranted. Secondary service connection may be granted for a disability that is proximately due to, or aggravated by, a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. In order to prevail on the issue of entitlement to secondary service connection, there must be (1) evidence of a current disability; (2) evidence of a service-connected disability; and (3) nexus evidence establishing a connection between the service-connected disability and the current disability. See Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998). The Veteran has asserted that he developed diverticulitis as a result of colon cancer he developed from his exposure to herbicides during his service in Vietnam. The record shows that a colonoscopy conducted in 2009 demonstrated that the Veteran had diverticulitis which was confirmed by a 2012 VA examination. Additionally, May 2012a rating decision granted service connection for colon cancer as a result of exposure to herbicides while serving in Vietnam. Thus, the first two elements have been satisfied in that there is evidence of a current disability and evidence of a service-connected disability. However, an analysis of the record does not support the third element - a nexus (or connection) between a current disability and a service-connected disability. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in July of 2013. The VA examiner asserted that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s diverticulitis was caused or aggravated by his service. The examiner concluded that there was no objective evidence of aggravation as many years have passed since the Veteran was treated for his colon cancer in 1193. Additionally, the examiner indicated that there is no pertinent medical literature which would support a cause and effect relationship between the two conditions. The examiner is competent to provide such an analysis given his background, there is no evidence that his opinion is not credible, and it has significant probative taking his rationale into account. The Veteran has asserted that his diagnosis of diverticulitis was caused by his service-connected colon cancer, however, he is not competent to make such an assertion. For the above reasons, the Board finds that the preponderance of evidence weighs against the claim of secondary service connection for diverticulitis; consequently, the claim must be denied. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55-57 (1990). K. J. ALIBRANDO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Luby, Associate Counsel