Citation Nr: 21073427 Decision Date: 12/08/21 Archive Date: 12/08/21 DOCKET NO. 16-10 850 DATE: December 8, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from April 1961 to January 1970 and from January 1970 to August 1970. This matter comes before the Board from a December 2014 rating decision. The Veteran appeared before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Board hearing in August 2021. The transcript is in the record. Additionally, the Board notes that the Veteran's claim for service connection for a headache condition is based on exposure to Agent Orange and asbestos aboard ships in-service, or related to several head traumas in-service. Service connection for a headache condition was initially denied in a July 2013 rating decision. The Veteran did not file a notice of disagreement within one year of the rating decision. This decision became final. In May 2014, the Veteran's personnel record was added to the claims file. This evidence includes details about ships on which the Veteran served. These records support the proposition that the Veteran may have been exposed to asbestos while on board a Navy vessel. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c), at any time after VA issues a decision on a claim, if VA receives or associates with the claims file relevant official service department records that existed and had not been associated with the claims file when VA first decided the claim, VA will reconsider the claim, notwithstanding the requirement under subpart (a) that there first be new and material evidence to reopen the claim. See also Vigil v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 63 (2008) (official service department records are new and material evidence, thus requiring de novo review or reconsideration). In light of the aforementioned personnel records, the Board will consider the service connection claim for a headache condition on the merits, without addressing any threshold issue of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.156 (c). 1. Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. The Veteran has proffered several theories of entitlement for his headache condition. First, that his headaches are related to an in-service motor vehicle accident. Second, the headaches are related to his exposure to herbicide agents or asbestos. Third, that his headaches are aggravated by his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veteran underwent a VA examination in January 2016. The examiner opined the Veteran's headaches were less likely than not related to his service as there were no headaches documented in his service records. However, the mere absence of in-service evidence of a disability is not fatal to a service connection claim. See Ledford v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 87, 89 (1992). Further, the Veteran has since testified that he experienced headaches since his motor vehicle accident in-service. This contention was not addressed by the VA examiner. The Veteran is also presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. In that regard, no VA examiner has addressed whether this exposure could have caused his headache condition. The Veteran has additionally asserted exposure to asbestos. Development should be done to determine the extent of the Veteran's exposure to asbestos. Should it be determined the Veteran was exposed to asbestos during service, a VA examiner should address whether this exposure could have caused his headache condition. Finally, the Veteran has asserted that his PTSD aggravates his headaches. This assertion has not been addressed by a VA examiner. Thus, an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD aggravates his headaches is requested. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Attempt to verify the Veteran's asserted in-service exposure to asbestos. If more details are needed, contact the Veteran to request the information. If there is still insufficient information to verify exposure to herbicide agents, issue a Formal Finding outlining the steps taken to assist the Veteran and notify the Veteran of VA's inability to verify the in-service asbestos exposure. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of any headache disability. After reviewing the claims file and examining the Veteran, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least likely as not that the Veteran's left knee and/or right knee disability: (a.) had its onset in service or is otherwise etiologically related to active service. The Veteran's lay statements about experiencing headaches since his motor vehicle accident should be addressed. The Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents should be addressed. If the Veteran is found to have been exposed to asbestos, this should also be addressed. (b.) was proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD. (c.) underwent any incremental increase in disability, regardless of its permanence, due to the service-connected PTSD. The term "incremental increase in disability" means additional impairment of earning capacity. Objective measurement, or numerical quantification, is not required to ascertain an increase in disability. Moreover, any "incremental increase in disability" need not be permanent. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board E. Rekowski 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.