Citation Nr: 21061624
Decision Date: 10/04/21	Archive Date: 10/04/21

DOCKET NO. 18-05 835
DATE:  October 4, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Veteran had active service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, and is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during such service. 

2. The Veteran's bladder cancer was the immediate cause of his death. 

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 1310, 5107 (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312 (2020). 

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active service from June 1958 to June 1961, and from June 1963 to April 1974, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. He died in July 2015, and the appellant is his surviving spouse. 

This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2016 rating decision issued by a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

In September 2021, the appellant testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. 

Service Connection for the Cause of the Veteran's Death

The evidence indicates that the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Therefore, it is presumed that he was exposed to herbicide agents. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii) (2020). 

The Veteran's death certificate indicates that the immediate cause of his death was complications of metastatic bladder cancer with metastasis to the spine and liver. 

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283 § 9109, added three disorders to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, it amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2) to include parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism. 

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Accordingly, the Board finds that the Veteran's bladder cancer is presumed to have been associated with in-service herbicide exposure and that his bladder cancer was the immediate cause of his death. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) (2018); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990).

 

 

Kristin Haddock

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	S. Mishalanie, 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.