Citation Nr: 21065768 Decision Date: 10/27/21 Archive Date: 10/27/21 DOCKET NO. 16-14 281 DATE: October 27, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for Barrett's esophagus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1961 to April 1964. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision issued in February 2013 by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A June 2020 Board decision denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for Barrett's esophagus. The Veteran appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). A July 2021 Court order implemented a Joint Motion for Partial Remand vacating and remanding that portion of the June 2020 Board decision that denied service connection for Barrett's esophagus. In July 2021 correspondence, the Veteran was notified that his appeal had been returned to the Board following the issuance of the July 2021 order. The 90-day period for the submission of evidence having closed, the Board will proceed to address the appeal on the merits. Clark v. O'Rourke, 30 Vet. App. 92, 9799 (2018). The Board notes that in June 2020 the Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for urinary retention. In a separate decision issued in April 2021, the Board denied service connection for urinary retention. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100. As such, that issue is no longer on appeal. The Veteran and his spouse testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in November 2018. A transcript of the hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for Barrett's esophagus. In the July 2021 Joint Motion for Partial Remand, it was determined that the September 2019 VA medical opinion upon which the Board relied in its June 2020 denial was inadequate, as the examiner relied on the absence of contemporaneous medical evidence to support the negative opinion. Dalton v. Peake, 21 Vet. App. 23 (2007). As such, a remand is required so that a new examination and opinion may be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's Barrett's esophagus. The examiner should answer the following: Is it at least as likely as not (a fifty percent probability or greater) that the Barrett's esophagus is causally related to the Veteran's active service, to include exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune? Attention is invited to treatment records showing distal esophagitis in August 1985 and a history of Barrett's esophagus and esophagitis in August 1998 (labelled "Medical Treatment Record - Non-Government Facility" pgs. 2, 13 uploaded 4/24/12). A detailed rationale for the opinion must be provided. The examiner is reminded that the term "as likely as not" does not mean "within the realm of medical possibility," but rather that the evidence of record is so evenly divided that, in the examiner's expert opinion, it is as medically sound to find in favor of the proposition as against it. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Wendell, 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.