Citation Nr: 18130596
Decision Date: 08/29/18	Archive Date: 08/29/18

DOCKET NO. 14-13 916
DATE:	August 29, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for Lewy Body dementia disorder, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure, is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from December 1963 to December 1965. He died in November 2014. The appellant is his surviving spouse and has been substituted for the Veteran in the current appeal.
In July 2016, the Board denied service connection for Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia disorder. The appellant appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appels for Veterans Claims (Court). In a December 2017 memorandum decision, the Court affirmed the Board’s decision with respect to the Parkinson’s claim and vacated and remanded its decision with respect to the Lewy Body dementia disorder claim.
Entitlement to service connection for Lewy Body dementia disorder, to include as secondary to herbicide exposure, is remanded.
The appellant contends that the Veteran’s Lewy Body dementia disorder was related to his conceded herbicide exposure. In its December 2017 memorandum, the Court acknowledged that the appellant had not raised this argument below, but declined to invoke the exhaustion doctrine. The Court noted that the appellant does not challenge the Board’s determinations regarding secondary and presumptive service connection. Rather, the Court noted that while the July 2016 Board decision addressed service connection on a direct basis, it did not discuss the possibility of entitlement to service connection due to the Veteran’s conceded herbicide exposure. A medical opinion as to the possible etiology between the Veteran’s service and his Lewy Body dementia disorder, to include presumed herbicide exposure, is required.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
Obtain an opinion from an appropriate examiner that addresses the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s Lewy Body dementia disorder. The claims file must be provided to the examiner for review. 
The examiner is asked to provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or more) that the Veteran’s Lewy Body dementia disorder was related to his service, to specifically include conceded exposure to herbicides.
Please note that a negative opinion cannot be based solely on the non-inclusion of the diagnosed condition on the presumptive list in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e). 
 
If an opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, the examiner should explain why it would be speculative to respond.
 
MICHAEL D. LYON
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	R.N. Poulson, Counsel