Citation Nr: 20004802 Decision Date: 01/21/20 Archive Date: 01/21/20 DOCKET NO. 13-34 851 DATE: January 21, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery disease, to include as due to exposure to herbicides. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as due to exposure to herbicides. Entitlement to service connection for a kidney disorder, to include as due to exposure to herbicides. Entitlement to service connection for a skin disorder, to include as due to exposure to herbicides. Entitlement to service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, to include as due to exposure to herbicides. Entitlement to service connection for seborrhea dermatitis of the scalp, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure. Entitlement to service connection for psoriasis, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure. Entitlement to service connection for puritis/xerous with lichen complex, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from October 1967 to October 1969. This case is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This case was previously before the Board in September 2019. The September 2019 Board decision, in pertinent part, stayed adjudication of the issues on appeal due to the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (the Act). The stay has been lifted, and the adjudication of the issues on appeal can now proceed. The September 2019 Board decision also remanded the issues of service connection for hearing loss, a psychiatric disorder, pes planus, and a lumbar spine disorder, to include as secondary to pes planus. These issues are currently being developed by the RO and will be not by addressed at this time. The record reflects that the Veteran submitted a timely notice of disagreement (NOD) with respect to an August 2018 RO rating decision which denied service connection for colon cancer and prostate cancer. Although the RO has not yet issued a statement of the case (SOC) for these issues, the Board notes that the issues are acknowledged in the electronic Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System. As the receipt of the NOD has been acknowledged by the RO and additional action is pending at the RO, the Board will not further address these matters at this time. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006).   Background The Veteran asserts that he has the disabilities on appeal as a result of exposure to herbicides while serving aboard the USS Savage (DER-386) from March 1968 to October 1969. Although records such as a June 2010 VA Form 21-3101 contain pertinent information concerning the Veteran’s assertions, remand is required as the record is unclear as to whether the Veteran’s service aboard the USS Savage was within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam. See Procopio v. Wilkie, 913 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2019). The National Personnel Records Center found that the USS Savage was within in the official waters of Vietnam for two periods in 1968. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Undertake all necessary actions to determine whether the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam in light of the Federal Circuit’s holding in Procopio. Such action may include obtaining and reviewing the deck logs of the USS Savage in order to ascertain its whereabouts while the Veteran served aboard the ship, conducting a further inquiry with the JSRRC, and any other development deemed appropriate. Any development on remand should address whether the USS Savage served within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the Republic of Vietnam while the Veteran was stationed with the ship, beginning in March 1968. 2. Contact all relevant government records repositories and document for the file which repositories were contacted. If any requested records or relevant information is not available, or the search for any such records or information otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records and this information must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain the records or information would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records or information must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his attorney. 3. Contact the appropriate VA Medical Center and obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding records of treatment on and after December 18, 2019. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his attorney. 4. Contact the Veteran and afford him the opportunity to identify by name, address and dates of treatment or examination any relevant non-VA medical records. Subsequently, and after securing the proper authorizations where necessary, make arrangements to obtain all the records of treatment or examination from all the sources listed by the appellant which are not already on file. All information obtained must be made part of the file. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file, and if, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named records, they are not able to be secured, provide the required notice and opportunity to respond to the Veteran and his attorney. 5. After any additional records are associated with the claims file, provide the Veteran with an appropriate examination for the skin disability and kidney disorder claims. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated tests and studies must be accomplished and all clinical findings must be reported in detail and correlated to a specific diagnosis. An explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran has any skin disorder that had its onset in, or is otherwise caused by, the Veteran’s military service, to include exposure to herbicides, if found. 6. After any additional records are associated with the claims file, provide the Veteran with an appropriate examination for the kidney disorder claim. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated tests and studies must be accomplished and all clinical findings must be reported in detail and correlated to a specific diagnosis. An explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran has any kidney disorder that had its onset in, or is otherwise caused by, the Veteran’s military service, to include exposure to herbicides, if found. 7. Notify the Veteran that it is his responsibility to report for any scheduled examination and to cooperate in the development of the claims, and that the consequences for failure to report for a VA examination without good cause may include denial of the claims. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.158, 3.655 (2019). In the event that the Veteran does not report for any scheduled examination, documentation must be obtained which shows that notice scheduling the examination was sent to the last known address. It must also be indicated whether any notice that was sent was returned as undeliverable. K. MILLIKAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board David Nelson 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.