Citation Nr: 18152938
Decision Date: 11/26/18	Archive Date: 11/26/18

DOCKET NO. 16-55 271
DATE:	November 26, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for chloracne to include as secondary to exposure to certain herbicides (i.e. Agent Orange) is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s chloracne manifested to a 10 percent degree or more within a year of his presumed exposure to Agent Orange.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for entitlement to service connection for chloracne to include as secondary to exposure to Agent Orange have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304, 3.309, 4.118.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from May 1969 to May 1971.

1. Entitlement to service connection for chloracne to include as secondary to exposure to certain herbicides (i.e. Agent Orange)
The Board recognizes that chloracne is a disease presumed to be related to exposure to Agent Orange See 3.309(e).  The diseases listed at §3.309(e) shall have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time after service, except that chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, and early-onset peripheral neuropathy shall have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within a year after the last date on which the veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active military, naval, or air service. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6)(ii).
The Veteran’s dermatologist provided correspondence to VA with a diagnosis of chloracne indicating the Veteran’s blackheads on his face are a symptoms of his diagnosis. The Board finds that this evidence is the most probative in terms of a diagnosis as the Board reasons that the Veteran’s dermatologist is best suited to determine the unique nature of the Veteran’s skin disability by nature of his care and treatment of the disease.
Next turning to the 10 percent requirement within a year of separation, the Board notes that the Veteran reported that in his September 2015 skin examination that he experienced blackheads on the anterior of his neck while on active duty. The Board finds that the Veteran is both credible and competent to report his observation of blackheads. The Board observes that a veteran is competent to report symptoms that he experiences at any time because this requires only personal knowledge as it comes to him through his senses. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465 (1994).  Moreover, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has held that when a condition may be diagnosed by its unique and readily identifiable features, the presence of the disorder is not a determination “medical in nature” and is capable of lay observation. See Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 309 (2007).  
The Board notes that chloracne is rated under 38 C.F.R. § 4.118 diagnostic code (DC) 7829.  A 10 percent rating under this code requires “[d]eep acne (deep inflamed nodules and pus-filled cysts) affecting less than 40 percent of the face and neck; or deep acne affecting non-intertriginous areas of the body (other than the face and neck).” See 38 C.F.R. § 4.118 (DC) 7829.  The Board finds that the Veteran’s statements, which have been deemed credible and competent, in his September 2015 VA examination illustrate that the Veteran’s disease met the 10 percent rating under 38 C.F.R. § 4.118 (DC) 7829 while he was on active duty and thus within a year of his exposure to Agent Orange. 
In sum, the Veteran has presumed exposure to Agent Orange and his met the requirements of a 10 percent rating under 38 C.F.R. § 4.118 (DC) 7829 within a year of his presumed exposure and likewise the requirements for presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6)(ii), 3.309(e). As such, the Board finds that service connection for chloracne is warranted.


 
GAYLE STROMMEN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	J. Acosta, Counsel