Citation Nr: 21031843 Decision Date: 05/24/21 Archive Date: 05/24/21 DOCKET NO. 15-19 020 DATE: May 24, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a heart condition is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for residuals of prostate cancer is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the Navy from September 1966 to September 1968. These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2014 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In July 2018, the Board remanded the Veteran's appeal to the RO for further evidentiary development. Subsequently, a May 2020 rating decision granted entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea and for unspecified trauma and stress disorder (claimed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)). As this constitutes a full grant of the benefit sought on appeal in regard to the sleep apnea and psychiatric condition, there remains no issues of controversy for adjudication by the Board on those claims. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156, 115859 (Fed. Cir. 1997). A Supplemental Statement of the Case was also issued in February 2021, continuing the denial of entitlement to service connection for a heart condition and for status-post prostate cancer and residuals. In May 2018, the Veteran testified before a Veterans Law Judge and a transcript of that hearing is associated with the claims file. The Veterans Law Judge who conducted the hearing is no longer employed by the Board and is not available to participate in this decision. In an April 2021 letter, the Veteran was informed of this fact and informed of his right to a hearing before a different Veterans Law Judge. The Veteran sent a written statement in April 2021, but did not indicate he wanted a new hearing. The Board will therefore proceed with adjudication of the claim at this time. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). Entitlement to service connection for a heart condition and for residuals of prostate cancer is remanded. The Veteran contends that he has a heart condition which was caused by smoke inhalation during the fire on board the U.S.S. Forrestal in July 1967, or alternatively is caused or aggravated by his service-connected sleep apnea and unspecified trauma and stress disorder. The Veteran also contends that he has residuals of prostate cancer which was caused by smoke inhalation during the fire on board the U.S.S. Forrestal in July 1967. See Appellate Brief, March 23, 2021. VA must order an examination when there is competent evidence of a current disability; evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease occurred in service; an indication that the disability may be associated with the Veteran's service or another service-connected disability; and there is insufficient evidence for VA to decide the claim. McClendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The record does not contain a medical opinion for the Veteran's heart condition. He was diagnosed with sinus bradycardia in March 2013 and he was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy in July 2020. VA has conceded that the Veteran was aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal during the tragic fire of July 29, 1967, and the Veteran has stated that he was exposed to smoke and fumes at that time. The Veteran argues that the smoke and fumes have caused his heart problems and also that his heart problems are caused or aggravated by his service-connected sleep apnea and/or psychiatric disorder. The low threshold standards are met, and remand is necessary for a VA examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's heart condition. Concerning the residuals of prostate cancer, the record also does not contain a medical opinion. The Veteran was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and underwent corrective surgery but he has stated that he suffers from residual symptoms. As noted above, the evidence indicates that the Veteran was exposed to smoke and fumes from burning airplanes and explosive charges during the July 1967 fire. The Veteran has contended that the smoke and fumes caused his prostate cancer. For this claim as well, the threshold standards have been met and remand is necessary for a VA examination and medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from September 2020 to the present. 2. Ask the Veteran to provide, or authorize VA to obtain, all relevant private medical records that have not been obtained, to include the visit with a cardiologist referenced by the Veteran in the April 2021 letter. All efforts to obtain these records must be documented in the claim file and the Veteran properly notified if unable to obtain any such identified records. Make two requests for the authorized records from each facility for which the Veteran provides authorization unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his claimed heart disability, to include sinus bradycardia and idiopathic cardiomyopathy. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinions below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: (a.) Is the heart condition at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to smoke and hazardous fumes during the July 1967 fire aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal? (b.) Is the heart condition at least as likely as not proximately due to his service-connected sleep apnea and/or unspecified trauma and stress disorder? (c.) Is the heart condition at least as likely as not aggravated, i.e., worsened beyond its natural progression, by the service-connected sleep apnea and/or unspecified trauma and stress disorder? Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). 4. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his claimed residuals of prostate cancer. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinions below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: (a.) Are the residuals of prostate cancer at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to smoke and hazardous fumes during the July 1967 fire aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal? A complete rationale for all opinions must be provided. If the clinician cannot provide a requested opinion without resorting to speculation, it must be so stated, and the clinician must provide the reasons why an opinion would require speculation. The clinician must indicate whether there was any further need for information or testing necessary to make a determination. Additionally, the clinician must indicate whether any opinion could not be rendered due to limitations of knowledge in the medical community at large and not those of the particular examiner. K. MARENNA Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Dean 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.