Citation Nr: 21042648 Decision Date: 07/13/21 Archive Date: 07/13/21 DOCKET NO. 17-06 536 DATE: July 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a kidney disability, to include kidney removal, is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, a kidney disability, to include kidney removal, is the result of service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a kidney disability, to include kidney removal have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1972 to January 1994. In January 2020, the Board remanded this case for additional development. The Board finds that there has been substantial compliance with the remand requests. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The Board notes that while substantial compliance with remand directives is required, strict compliance is not. D'Aries v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 97 (2008). Entitlement to service connection for a kidney disability, to include kidney removal The Veteran asserts that a kidney disability is the result of service. Specifically, the Veteran asserts that in-service use of Trichloroethylene (TCE) caused a kidney disability. The service personnel record shows that the Veteran's military occupational specialties were aircraft maintenance and bombing navigation systems technician. During the October 2019 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he used TCE in service, without any personal protection, several times a week to clean aircraft. In June 2016, the Veteran's private doctor stated that it was "highly likely" that in-service exposure to TCE was the cause of kidney cancer. In January 2020 a VA examiner opined that the claimed condition was less likely than not (less than 50 percent probability) incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness because there was no "objective evidence of treatment for exposure to trichloroethylene." The examiner concluded that the Veteran's daily use of hyperlipidemia medication (Lipitor 10mg) was the cause of kidney cancer. In March 2021, a private urologist opined that the kidney disability was more likely than not a direct result of in-service use of TCE, a known carcinogenic agent. The urologist also opined that it was "more unlikely than not" that hyperlipidemia and or prescribed statins caused the diagnosed kidney disability. The Veteran and his urologist submitted treatises and articles which linked TCE to kidney cancer. The Board finds that TCE exposure is consistent with the circumstances of the Veteran's service and duties as aircraft maintenance and bombing navigation systems technician. The Board finds the Veteran's testimony and the positive etiology opinion from the Veteran's urologist more persuasive, or at the very least in equipoise with the negative VA etiology opinion. The Veteran is shown to be credible and the urologist's opinion is supported by medical literature which establishes a causal connection between TCE and kidney cancer. The Board finds that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran was exposed to TCE during service. Accordingly, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds service connection for a kidney disability is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board E.O., 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.