Citation Nr: 21001133 Decision Date: 01/07/21 Archive Date: 01/07/21 DOCKET NO. 17-66 959 DATE: January 7, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for Parkinsonism is granted. FINDING OF FACT Parkinsonism is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for Parkinsonism have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116(a)(2), 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 1968 to June 1970. Entitlement to service connection for a neurological disability with Parkinson-like features The Veteran asserts that a Parkinsonism is the result of service, to include exposure to herbicide agents. Service Connection Service connection may be established for disability caused by disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In order to establish service connection for a claimed disability, there must be (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical, or in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) evidence, generally medical, of a causal relationship between the claimed in service disease or injury and the current disability. Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247 (1999). 38 U.S.C. § 1116(A) For purposes of establishing service connection for a disability resulting from exposure to herbicide agents, a veteran who had active military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era, beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, will be presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during that service, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran was not exposed to herbicide agents during that service. 38 U.S.C. § 1116(f); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a), 3.309(e). The applicable criteria provide that a disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents, listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e), will be considered to have been incurred in service under the circumstances outlined in this section even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a). The enumerated diseases which are associated with herbicide exposure do not specifically include Parkinsonism. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). However, on January 1, 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, H.R. 6395, added three disabilities to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, the Act amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2) to include Parkinsonism. The service personnel records show service in Vietnam and the AOJ has conceded herbicide agent exposure is presumed during to that service. The medical evidence shows a current diagnosis of Parkinsonism. Parkinsonism is now included in the list of diseases presumptively related to exposure to herbicide agents. Therefore, the Board finds that service connection is warranted on a presumptive basis. A November 2017 VA examiner stated that the Veteran had “a diagnosis of Parkinson but the literature on Agent Orange and Parkinsonism is not robust and does not show a clear cause and effect. The [Veteran] might have been exposed to Agent Orange over 30 years prior to developing symptoms of Parkinson's disease but I cannot say that Agent Orange caused Parkinsonism. Therefore, the [V]eteran's Parkinsonism [wa]s NOT caused by Agent Orange exposure.” In July 2020 and September 2020 statements, two of the Veteran’s private doctors stated that Parkinsonism was at least as likely as not caused from Agent Orange exposure. The doctors stated that Agent Orange had been found to be a neurotoxin and the neurotoxin had significantly contributed to the Veteran’s neurological disability. The July 2020 and September 2020 medical opinions are most probative of the issue at hand as they were provided by competent medical professionals, included an accurate consideration of the Veteran’s medical history and diagnoses, and were supported by a rationale. Therefore, the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that Parkinsonism is related to service, and service and service connection is warranted on a direct basis. Accordingly, the claim for Parkinsonism is granted as Parkinsonism is presumed to be the result of the Veteran’s presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board E.O., Associate Counsel 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.