Citation Nr: 21041871
Decision Date: 07/10/21	Archive Date: 07/10/21

DOCKET NO. 16-12 316
DATE: July 10, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for a condition claimed as vertigo and dizziness, to include peripheral vestibular disorder, and/or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and/or Meniere's disease, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1954 to January 1975.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2014 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denying service connection for vertigo and dizziness. In March 2021, the matter was remanded to cure an inadequacy with a prior VA opinion. 

While this matter was on remand, the Veteran was granted service connection for Parkinson's disease in May 2021. In a June 2021 informal hearing presentation submitted for this matter, the Veteran's representative stated that the Parkinson's Foundation describes vertigo and dizziness as a commonly reported symptom of Parkinson's disease. He therefore requested that the Veteran be provided an opinion whether his condition manifesting in vertigo and dizziness may be secondary to his now-service-connected Parkinson's disease. 

Given the evidence indicating a potential link between the Veteran's Parkinson's disease and symptoms of vertigo and dizziness, the Board will direct for an opinion regarding a secondary connection. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A(d); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4). 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's condition claimed as vertigo and dizziness. The need for an additional examination of the Veteran is left to the discretion of the clinician.

The clinician is asked to opine whether the Veteran's symptoms of vertigo and dizziness are part of the symptomology of his service-connected Parkinson's disease.

If the vertigo and dizziness are not symptoms of his Parkinson's disease, the clinician should opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's diagnosed conditions manifesting in vertigo and dizziness are (i) proximately due to or (ii) aggravated (worsened beyond the natural course) by the Veteran's service-connected Parkinson's disease.

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2. After the above development and any other development deemed necessary is completed, readjudicate the Veteran's claim.

 

K. Parakkal

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Davis, 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.