Citation Nr: 18156956 Decision Date: 12/11/18 Archive Date: 12/11/18 DOCKET NO. 12-34 651 DATE: December 11, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right petroclinoid meningioma (claimed as brain tumor) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 1968 to May 1972. Service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era is confirmed. Therefore, the Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange during service. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the Board) on appeal from a July 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke, Virginia. The rating decision denied service connection for right petroclinoid meningioma (claimed as brain tumor) on the basis that the disability is not one covered under Agent Orange exposure presumption. In June 2018, the Veteran was scheduled for a hearing before the Board and did not appear for the hearing. As the Veteran did not provide good cause for his failure to report to his scheduled hearing, his hearing request is deemed withdrawn. 1. Entitlement to service connection for right petroclinoid meningioma (claimed as brain tumor) is remanded. The Veteran alleges that he is entitled to a service connection for right petroclinoid meningioma because he developed the disability due to exposure to Agent Orange. Exposure to Agent Orange is presumed based on his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Veteran was diagnosed with right petroclinoid meningioma in December 2001 and underwent gamma knife radiation procedure in the same month. His condition since has been stable. Service connection is presumed for certain diseases if a veteran is exposed to an herbicide agent, such as Agent Orange, during active service. 38 U.S.C. §1116; 38 C.F.R. §3.307. The Veteran’s disability is not one of those listed. However, the Veteran’s disability not being listed as a disease presumptive to be service-connected to Agent Orange exposure does not preclude the Veteran from establishing a service connection based on a medical nexus between the disability and the Veteran’s service (a direct basis). McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2016); See Combee v. Brown, 34 F. 3d 1039, 1043-1044 (Fed. Cir. 1994). Furthermore, the mere absence of the disability on the presumptive list is not an adequate basis for denial of a service connection. The issue of a medical nexus between the Veteran’s service and his disability was never addressed on a direct basis. As such, the Board cannot make a fully informed decision on this claim. Accordingly, a remand is warranted for further development, including a VA medical examination and opinion with respect to whether it is as likely as not that the Veteran’s right petroclinoid meningioma is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including the Veteran’s exposure to Agent Orange. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. The RO should request that the Veteran provide the names and addresses of all health care providers who have diagnosed and provided treatment for his disability. After acquiring this information and obtaining any necessary authorization, the RO should obtain and associate these records with the claims file. 2. After completing the foregoing development, the RO should schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of his right petroclinoid meningioma. The examiner is requested to review all pertinent records associated with the claims file, including the Veteran’s service treatment records, personnel records, and post-service medical records. The examiner must opine as to whether it is at least likely as not that the Veteran’s right petroclinoid meningioma is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including exposure to Agent Orange and provide a rationale for the opinion. The examiner is reminded that the mere exclusion of the disability from the presumptive Agent Orange list is not an adequate basis for a negative opinion. Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Kuksova, Associate Counsel