Citation Nr: A21020167
Decision Date: 12/17/21	Archive Date: 12/17/21

DOCKET NO. 200622-94209
DATE: December 17, 2021

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for dementia with Lewy bodies is granted.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran's dementia with Lewy bodies is related to his exposure to herbicide agents during service.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for entitlement to service connection for dementia with Lewy bodies have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107(b) (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307 (2021).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty from July 1970 to February 1972.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2020 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In July 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Acting Veterans Law Judge; a transcript of that hearing is of record.

Entitlement to service connection for dementia with Lewy bodies.

Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires evidence showing: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a nexus between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d).

Veterans who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War era are presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents in service. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii).

The Veteran is diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies. See August 2019 VA examination; May 2019 VA treatment records. It is well-established that he served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War era and is thus presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during service. See, e.g., May 2020 VA memorandum.

An August 2019 VA examiner opined that the Veteran did not have Parkinson's disease and that dementia with Lewy bodies was not a presumed condition associated with herbicide agent exposure. To the extent that the examiner opined that the Veteran's diagnosed disability is not related to service, the opinion is inadequate because it relied on the lack of a presumptive relation to service and did not use the correct legal standard. As a result, the opinion is assigned no probative weight.

In a November 2019 medical opinion, the Veteran's VA treating physician opined that the Veteran's dementia with Lewy bodies is more likely than not due to his service in Vietnam. The physician noted that the Veteran was likely exposed to herbicide agents during service and the medical literature supported a correlation between such exposure and the development of neurodegenerative conditions that include Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, which are pathologically associated with each other. The physician also noted that the Veteran had no other usual risk factors for dementia with Lewy bodies, and thus his condition was more likely than not related to his service. 

The Board finds the November 2019 VA treating physician's opinion to be adequate for appellate review. The physician relied on examination of the Veteran and provided a full and detailed rationale that included discussion of the Veteran's diagnosed disability and his military and medical history. As a result, the opinion is assigned significant probative weight.

The probative evidence of record reflects that the Veteran's dementia with Lewy bodies is related to his herbicide agent exposure during service. There is no probative contradictory evidence. Thus, service connection is warranted, and the claim is granted. 

 

T. V. CASEY

Acting Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Sandler, 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.