Citation Nr: 21022522 Decision Date: 04/16/21 Archive Date: 04/16/21 DOCKET NO. 16-39 691 DATE: April 16, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer, for consideration of accrued benefits, is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s bladder cancer was not etiologically related to active service and was not present within one year of his separation from service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bladder cancer have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 5107 (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 1971 to January 1973. The Veteran died in June 2019 and the appellant is his surviving spouse, who has been properly substituted in this appeal. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was previously before the Board at which time the Veteran testified in a May 2019 hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of that proceeding is of record. In a November 2020 decision, the Board remanded the issue on appeal for additional development. The issue of entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer has been returned to the Board. The Board also notes that the issue of entitlement to service connection for lung cancer is still pending before the RO and is not before the Board for adjudication. Service Connection – Bladder Cancer It is asserted that the Veteran’s bladder cancer was related to his active military service due to the use of solvents in cleaning artillery. The Board is mindful that recent legislation has amended the list of disabilities presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents, to include bladder cancer. See The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283 § 9109. Although the Veteran’s service personnel records confirm overseas service, none of the indicated areas of service were within regions considered for herbicide agent exposure. As the record does not suggest that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during the course of his active service, entitlement to service connection on a presumptive theory of entitlement is not applicable. Id. Service treatment records (STRs) are silent for complaints of, treatment for, or a diagnosis of bladder cancer, to include symptoms that could be associated with a later diagnosis of such, while he was in active service. Pursuant to the Board’s November 2020 remand order, attempts were made to obtain private medical records which were referenced during the Veteran’s May 2019 hearing. The appellant did not respond to requests made to obtain the necessary consents for the release of the records sought. However, the claims file does include a previously obtained private medical record received in July 2019. Included in that record are letters from two separate private treating physicians. Relevant to the instant claim, one of the letters contains a statement from a private physician that the Veteran was being seen for treatment of his bladder cancer. However, there is no opinion provided concerning etiology of the disability. In support of his claim, the Veteran submitted several articles from on-line sources which discuss the correlation between increased bladder cancer risks due to exposure to certain chemicals. However, those articles are of little probative value. There is no indication within the Veteran’s records that the chemicals and exposure discussed within the articles are related to the Veteran’s active service or were chemicals which he was exposed to. The articles lack any specificity to the facts of the Veteran’s case and do not contain reliable medical information regarding the onset of his bladder cancer or its origin. While the Veteran was competent to report on some medical issues, he was not competent to link bladder cancer, which had its onset several decades following his separation from service, to his active service. An opinion of that nature requires medical expertise that is outside the realm of common knowledge of a layperson. Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428 (2011); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Therefore, the Veteran was not competent to provide an etiology opinion in this case. (Continued on the next page)   The evidence does not support that there was an indication that the Veteran’s bladder cancer resulted from an event or injury in service to warrant the necessity of an examination. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). Overall, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim and entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer is not warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b) (2018); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Kristin Haddock Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board E. Sutherell, 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.