Citation Nr: 21072631
Decision Date: 12/03/21	Archive Date: 12/03/21

DOCKET NO. 16-62 290
DATE:       December 3, 2021

REMAND

Entitlement to service connection for meningioma (claimed as a brain tumor/cancer), to include as due to herbicide exposure and exposure to radiation, is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for seizures, to include as secondary to meningioma is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1968 to October 1972. His service includes service in Thailand in support of the Vietnam conflict.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2013 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) (hereinafter agency of original jurisdiction or AOJ).

The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a Board virtual hearing in April 2020. The transcript is of record.

The Board notes that this matter was remanded to the AOJ in February 2021 for further development. Specifically, the Board requested medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's meningioma and/or seizures had been present since service. A July 2021 medical opinion attributed the Veteran's symptoms contemporaneous in time to the residuals of Chikungunya titers. In August 2021, the Veteran submitted a medical article discussing that the chikungunya virus may cause neurologic complications that may possibly be chronic. This article meets the low threshold suggesting a potential relationship between his current seizures and Chikungunya infection during service. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006).

Accordingly, these matters are REMANDED for the following:

Refer the Veteran's claims file to a qualified VA examiner and obtain an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's current seizure disorder and/or meningioma is a complication of Chikungunya infection during service. In so doing, the examiner should consider any appropriate medical literature including the article entitled "The neurological complications of chikungunya virus: A systemic review." See Correspondence received August 27, 2021.

 

 

T. MAINELLI

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P. Brady, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.