Citation Nr: 21025614 Decision Date: 04/28/21 Archive Date: 04/28/21 DOCKET NO. 19-15 398 DATE: April 28, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer, secondary to Agent Orange (AO) exposure, 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 bladder cancer. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an award of service connection for bladder cancer 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 FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1964 to April 1967. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a December 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away during the pendency of the appeal. Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 5121A, the RO granted the Appellant’s request to be substituted in the Veteran’s appeal. Accordingly, the Appellant has been substituted as the claimant for purposes of the service connection claim on appeal. In February 2020, the Board denied the instant claim for service connection for bladder cancer. Thereafter the Appellant appealed the Board’s denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) and, in December 2020, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) that vacated and remanded the Board’s February 2020 decision. It now returns to the Board for further appellate review. Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer, secondary to AO exposure. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). The law provides a presumption of service connection for certain diseases that are associated with exposure to herbicide agents and become manifest within a specified time period in a Veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam or in or near the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) during specified periods of time, even if there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of service. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (a)(6). As noted above, the Board previously denied the instant claim. Such was done on the basis that bladder cancer was not on the list of diseases for which service connection is warranted on a presumptive basis due to herbicide agent exposure as listed in 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (a)(2) and that the Veteran’s bladder cancer was not otherwise shown to be connected to his military service. In this regard, prior to the enactment of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), bladder cancer was not listed as one of the diseases that may be presumed to be service connected as due to exposure to herbicide agents if manifested in a Veteran who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(e). However, the 2021 NDAA (enacted January 1, 2021 over presidential veto) has added three disorders to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, it amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (a)(2) to include parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism. Additionally, the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116 have been extended to encompass Veterans shown to have been otherwise exposed to tactical herbicides in service, including while serving in Thailand, or on the DMZ in Korea. As noted in the February 2020 Board decision, the Veteran was diagnosed with bladder cancer in December 2008. The VA has also previously conceded that he is a Veteran of the Vietnam Era, and was exposed to Agent Orange. These favorable findings are binding on the Board and are therefore not in dispute. 38 C.F.R. § 3.104 (c). Therefore, under the law, as amended, service connection is warranted for bladder cancer pursuant to the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (a)(2)(J). The appeal is granted. Z. SAHRAIE Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Breckenridge, 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.