Citation Nr: 21008770 Decision Date: 02/18/21 Archive Date: 02/18/21 DOCKET NO. 19-00 011A DATE: February 18, 2021 ORDER Service connection for hypothyroidism is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam and is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents during service. 2. The Veteran has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an award of service connection for hypothyroidism have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from September 1966 to June 1968, to include service in Vietnam. His decorations include the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an January 2018 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. The Veteran was scheduled for a virtual Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in February 2020, but was unable to attend. In light of the evidence of record supporting the claim, and a recent change in law (as noted below), his representative agreed to withdraw the request for hearing so that the Board could proceed to consider the appeal without further delay. Service connection for hypothyroidism The Veteran contends that he has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and that the condition is the result of his exposure to herbicide agents while on active duty. Service connection is warranted where the evidence of record establishes that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred in the line of duty in the active military service or, if pre-existing such service, was aggravated thereby. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, in order to prove service connection, there must be competent, credible evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury or disease, and (3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. See, e.g., Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Pond v. West, 12 Vet. App. 341 (1999). Under applicable law, a Veteran who served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, is presumed to have been exposed to an herbicide agent, absent affirmative evidence to the contrary. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). VA regulations further provide that service connection is warranted for certain diseases as presumptively due to herbicide exposure. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). During the pendency of this appeal, effective January 1, 2021, an act of Congress amended the law relating to presumptive service connection, adding three diseases that are now deemed to be presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283, H.R. 6395, 116th Cong. (2021) (to be codified, in part, at 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2)(K)). Hypothyroidism is one of those diseases. There is no material dispute that the Veteran has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. See September 2017 Private Medical Records. As military personnel records also confirm service in Vietnam during the requisite period, there is also no dispute that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service. Under the law, as amended, service connection is warranted for hypothyroidism pursuant to the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2)(K). The appeal is granted. DAVID A. BRENNINGMEYER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Joseph T. Leonard, Law Clerk 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.