Citation Nr: 20002890 Decision Date: 01/14/20 Archive Date: 01/13/20 DOCKET NO. 16-25 641 DATE: January 14, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a left lung disability, to include as secondary to herbicide agent exposure, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to service connection for a left lung disability, to include as secondary to herbicide agent exposure is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for a lung disability based on herbicide agent exposure. The RO has previously acknowledged herbicide agent exposure while serving in the Republic of Vietnam. Service connection based on herbicide agent exposure will be presumed for certain specified diseases that become manifest to a compensable degree within a specified period of time. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f); 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6). If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active military, naval, or air service, certain diseases, shall be service-connected if the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6) are met, even if there is no record of such disease during service, provided further that the rebuttable presumption provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(d) are also satisfied. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(e). Medical treatment records show the Veteran was diagnosed with a left lung mass in 2010. The evidence of record shows that the most recent MRI found a normal left lung. There is no evidence of record showing a diagnosis of lung cancer. The Veteran asserts that he sought lung treatment in 1970, but that those records are unavailable. The Veteran also contends that this has been an ongoing condition since his separation from service. The Board acknowledges that a nonspecific left lung disability, to include the claimed lung mass, is not on the list of disabilities associated with herbicide agent exposure. However, direct service connection may still be established. With regard to disabilities a Veteran attributes to exposure to herbicide agents, for Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam, service connection may be presumed for certain enumerated diseases that become manifest within a presumptive period. Regardless of the applicability of the presumption, a claimant is not precluded from establishing service connection with proof of direct causation. The Veteran has not been provided a VA examination which addresses a left lung disability and any relationship to active service. VA’s duty to assist includes, in appropriate cases, the duty to conduct a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination which is accurate and fully descriptive. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: (Continued on the next page)   Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the etiology of any left lung disability. The examiner must review the claim file and must note that review in the report. The examiner should diagnose all left lung disabilities found on examination or on review of the medical records. The examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any left lung disability is related to active service, to include acknowledged herbicide agent exposure. The examiner should provide a rationale for all opinions provided. Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Department of Veterans Affairs The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.