Citation Nr: 21030458
Decision Date: 05/19/21	Archive Date: 05/19/21

DOCKET NO. 14-24 318
DATE: May 19, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as due to diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1966 to July 1990. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  This matter was last before the Board in January 2020, when it was remanded for further development.

1. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension, to include as due to diabetes mellitus, type II is remanded.

Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board's previous remand directives.  The January 2020 remand requested an addendum opinion to address whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's hypertension is related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents. However, the addendum opinion obtained in January 2020 did not adequately address this question.   Rather, the examiner relied on the fact that hypertension is not included in            the list of recognized presumptive diseases for VA purposes. 

While further delay is regrettable, in light of the above, the Board finds that an additional remand is warranted. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain an opinion from a qualified VA examiner as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's hypertension is related to his presumed exposure to herbicides.  The examiner should explain why or why not, with consideration of the fact that the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) previously determined there was "limited/suggestive evidence of a relationship" between hypertension and herbicide exposure, but recently changed it to "sufficient" evidence of a relationship. The fact that hypertension is not included in the VA listed of disabilities presumed     to be service connected due to herbicide agent exposure may not be the sole basis for a negative opinion. 

2. If the claim remains denied, issue a supplemental statement of the case, as appropriate. 

 

 

K. A. BANFIELD

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	A. Asare, 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.