Citation Nr: 21062858 Decision Date: 10/12/21 Archive Date: 10/12/21 DOCKET NO. 20-10 101 DATE: October 12, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with pulmonary nodules, including as due to herbicide exposure, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1966 to October 1968, including service in the Republic of Vietnam. Accordingly, he is presumed to have been exposed to tactical herbicides. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2019 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran filed a Notice of Disagreement in August 2019 and a Statement of the Case was issued in February 2020. The Veteran appeared for an optional Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in July 2021. 1. Entitlement to service connection for COPD with pulmonary nodules, including as due to herbicide exposure The Veteran contends that he has COPD with pulmonary nodules because of his exposure to tactical herbicide agents while serving in the Republic of Vietnam. He also contends that his exposure to "smoke, tear gas, dust, motor fumes, other inhaled agents, artillery propellants, petroleum fumes, and defoliating herbicides," led to his current lung disability. See March 2020 VA Form-9. The Veteran was provided with a VA respiratory conditions examination in December 2018 where he was found to have diagnoses for COPD and pulmonary nodules. The examiner did not render an opinion on whether the Veteran's disability was related to service. VA treatment records from January 2019 show that a VA pulmonologist was not able to resolve the issue of whether the Veteran's COPD is due to his exposure to herbicides in service without resorting to mere speculation because he did not have details regarding the Veteran's exposure. The physician stated that this question could be answered following a compensation and pension examination. Notwithstanding this suggestion, the Veteran was not afforded another examination and a medical opinion was not obtained. See Jones v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 382, 389 (2010). The Board cannot make a fully informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for COPD with pulmonary nodules because the record does not contain an adequate opinion on whether the Veteran's lung disability is related to his service, including his acknowledged herbicide exposure. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for private treatment records for any relevant private treatment records, to include records from the Adena Medical Center. Make two requests for the authorized records from Adena Medical Center, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 2. Obtain a medical opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding the Veteran's COPD with pulmonary nodules. The claims file should be made available for review. The examiner should provide opinions on the following: a) Is it at least as likely as not that the Veteran's COPD with pulmonary nodules is related to his service, to include acknowledged exposure to herbicides? A fully articulated medical rationale for any opinion expressed must be set forth in the medical report. The examiner should discuss the particulars of this Veteran's medical history and the relevant medical science as applicable to this case, which may reasonably explain the medical guidance in the study of this case. M. Donohue Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Morrad, 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.