Citation Nr: 21023882 Decision Date: 04/21/21 Archive Date: 04/21/21 DOCKET NO. 15-15 978 DATE: April 21, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a prostate condition, to include benign prostate hypertrophy and as due to herbicide exposure, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from June 1967 to May 1969. His awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge. This matter comes before the Board from a July 2014 rating decision. The Board remanded the matter for further development in June 2018. Entitlement to service connection for a prostate condition, to include benign prostate hypertrophy and as due to herbicide exposure The Veteran contends his prostate condition, to include benign prostate hypertrophy is related to his exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran has service in Vietnam and is presumed exposed to herbicide agents. In June 2018, the Board remanded the claim for a VA examiner to opine as to whether the Veteran’s prostate condition could be directly related to his exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in July 2019. The examiner opined the Veteran’s prostate condition was less likely than not related to his exposure to herbicide agents as the Veteran’s diagnosed benign prostate hypertrophy was not noted in-service, and because VA has not found an etiological association between benign prostate hypertrophy and herbicide exposure. This is the same basis that the examiner disagreed with the Veteran’s private physician, Dr. D.V.T., who opined the condition was related to herbicide exposure but provided no supporting rationale. The Board finds the July 2019 VA examiner’s opinion inadequate. The examiner appears to base her opinion on the fact that benign prostate hypertrophy is not presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. However, this does not preclude the contention that in the Veteran’s specific case he developed benign prostate hypertrophy as a result of his exposure to herbicide agents. An addendum VA medical opinion is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran’s prostate disability. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311-12 (2007). The matter is REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Provide the Veteran’s claims file to an appropriate clinician to provide an opinion regarding the Veteran’s prostate condition. The entire claims file and a copy of this remand must be made available to the examiner for review. A new examination (physical or telehealth) is only required if deemed necessary by the examiner. The examiner should address the following: (a.) Opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s benign prostate hypertrophy (even if since resolved) had its onset in service or is related to active service, to include presumed in-service herbicide exposure. (b.) Note - It is not sufficient to provide an opinion that the Veteran’s BPH is not directly due to herbicide exposure merely because it is not on the list of diseases and conditions presumptively linked with herbicide exposure. The examiner must provide all findings, along with a complete rationale for his or her opinion(s) in the examination report. If any of the above requested opinions cannot be made without resort to speculation, the examiner must state this and provide a rationale for such conclusion. 2. Then, review all examination reports and medical opinions provided to ensure that the requested information was provided. If any report or opinion is deficient in any manner, the AOJ must implement corrective procedures. 3. Then, readjudicate the claim. If the decision is adverse to the Veteran, issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case and allow the applicable time for response. Then, return the case to the Board. T. Blake Carter Acting 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.