Citation Nr: 21071667 Decision Date: 12/01/21 Archive Date: 12/01/21 DOCKET NO. 18-17 984 DATE: December 1, 2021 REMANDED Service connection for kidney disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from February 1969 to February 1971. He died in September 2018. The appellant is his surviving spouse and has been recognized as substitute claimant for the purpose of this appeal. An April 2019 Board decision, in pertinent part, denied service connection for kidney failure. The Veteran appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In May 2021, the Court issued an order that partially vacated the Board decision and remanded the matter on appeal for adjudication consistent with the Court's Memorandum Decision. The May 2021 Memorandum Decision found the Board failed to liberally construe the Veteran's claim for kidney failure as a claim for kidney disability. See Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1, 6 (2009). Accordingly, the issue has been recharacterized to encompass all kidney diagnoses. Service connection for kidney disability The May 2021 Memorandum Decision additionally found the Board improperly relied on its own medical judgment and failed to address whether a medical opinion was warranted to determine the existence of kidney disability and its etiology. The Board requests a medical opinion to address the nature and etiology of any kidney disability found prior to the Veteran's death. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding the nature and etiology of any kidney disability. The clinician should answer: (a.) Identify any kidney disability found during the appeal period. The clinician is asked to consider: (i.) the Veteran's creatinine level was noted as abnormally high in July 2015, December 2015, March 2016, and September 2016; (ii.) March 2017 pulmonologist noting renal function worsened over the last year; and (iii.) a March 2017 VA note advising an appointment with a nephrologist or kidney specialist. (b.) If a kidney disability is identified, opine whether it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) began during service or was related to service, to include in-service exposure to herbicide agents? The clinician is advised a negative opinion cannot be based solely on the fact the identified disability is not on the list of diseases that are presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Winkler, 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.