Citation Nr: 21070206 Decision Date: 11/23/21 Archive Date: 11/23/21 DOCKET NO. 17-46 228 DATE: November 23, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam from September 1967 to September 1968 and is presumed to exposure to herbicide agents. 2. The Veteran passed away in March 2016 and the immediate cause of death is bladder cancer. 3. Bladder cancer is recognized by the VA as a disease presumptively linked to herbicide agent exposure such as Agent Orange. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish DIC on the basis of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 1310, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1967 to February 1970, with service in Vietnam from September 1967 to September 1968. He died in March 2016. The appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. The appellant asserts that the Veteran's diagnosis of bladder cancer and subsequent death is due to his exposure to Agent Orange. Service connection for the cause of a veteran's death is warranted if a service-connected disability either caused or contributed substantially or materially to the cause of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312. The death of a veteran will be considered as having been due to a service-connected disability when the evidence establishes that disability was either the principal or a contributory cause of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(a). A service-connected disability will be considered as the principal, or primary, cause of death when that disability, singly or jointly with some other condition, was the immediate or underlying cause of death or was etiologically related thereto. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(b). Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166 -67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). If a veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period from January 9, 1962, to May 7, 1975, he or she will be presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307. Certain diseases may be presumed service-connected if a veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in service, even if there is no record of the disease during service. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). The Veteran's DD Form 214 shows he served in Vietnam from September 1967 to September 1968; thus, presumption of exposure to Agent Orange is conceded. The Veteran's death certificate reports the immediate and only cause of death as "bladder cancer, unknown cell type." Prior to May 27, 2021, bladder cancer was not listed as one of the disabilities for which presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure could be granted under 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). In May 2021, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs added bladder cancer to the list of those conditions presumptively associated with exposure to Agent Orange. See William M. Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116-283). Therefore, the Secretary's addition of bladder cancer to the list and the presumptions granted under 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2(J) provide the causal relationship element for service connection. Based on the above, all elements for presumptive service connection for bladder cancer are met. As such, service connection for bladder cancer is warranted. Accordingly, the appellant's appeal for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Telamour, 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.