Citation Nr: 21042742 Decision Date: 07/13/21 Archive Date: 07/13/21 DOCKET NO. 12-13 631 DATE: July 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a prostate disorder is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active military service from March 1959 to March 1983, to include verified service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War Era. This matter was last before the Board in June 2020, whereupon the denial of entitlement to service connection for a prostate disorder was confirmed. Following the Veteran's appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) issued a May 2021 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR) vacating the service connection denial and remanding the claim back to the Board. The matter is now being further remanded for action commensurate with the Court's orders in the JMPR. As a reminder, the Veteran testified at a March 2017 videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge; a copy of the transcript of that hearing is of record. Entitlement to service connection for a prostate disorder is remanded. The Court in the May 2021 JMPR found fault with the Board's apparent omission of certain positive etiology evidence suggesting that the Veteran's prostate disorder may have manifested in service and continued since his discharge from service. Specifically, the Court noted that in confirming the denial of service connection for a prostate disorder, the Board stated that the Veteran did not exhibit any symptomatology of a prostate disorder following his discharge from service in 1983 until 2007. However, the Court highlighted that the claims file contains a copy of VA medical records dating from August 1985 wherein the Veteran sought treatment for an enlarged and tender prostate, with an impression of prostatitis. In the Court's estimation, the existence of this treatment record directly conflicted with the Board's characterization of the evidence, and so remand was deemed necessary in order to readjudicate the claim in light of this previously omitted evidence. Without making a judgment as the propriety of the Board's previous decision and the impact of the evidence highlighted by the Court, the Board finds instead that remand is first needed in order to secure an etiology opinion that addresses the Veteran's contentions regarding the possible connection between his conceded exposure to toxic herbicide agents in service and his later development of a prostate disorder. Specifically, the Veteran asserts that his prostate disorder is attributable to his exposure to toxic herbicide agents in service while stationed within the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War era. His exposure to such herbicide agents was most recently confirmed in a May 2021 memorandum of record. While the Veteran's diagnoses of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis are not diseases subject to presumptive service connection on the basis of exposure to toxic herbicide agents, service connection may still be warranted if the evidence shows that either condition is otherwise attributable to service, to include as due to the Veteran's presumptive exposure to toxic herbicides in service. See Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1994). Furthermore, the Board notes that the Veteran has never been afforded a VA examination with an opinion that addresses the likely etiology of the claimed prostate disorder. Accordingly, this claim is remanded in order to schedule the Veteran for an examination for such an etiology opinion. This matter is REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with a qualified examiner in order to evaluate the nature and likely etiology of the claimed prostate disorder. The entire claims file, to include a complete copy of this REMAND, must be made available to the individual or individuals designated to review the record, and the resulting report should include discussion of the Veteran's documented medical history and assertions relating to any prostate symptomatology during his lifetime. All necessary diagnostic testing should be completed prior to setting forth any opinion. After confirming any and all diagnoses associated with the prostate that account for the Veteran's claimed symptomatology, the examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran has a prostate disorder that is related to his active military service, to specifically include consideration of the likelihood that the condition is attributable to the Veteran's presumed exposure to toxic herbicides in service. In setting forth this opinion, the examiner is reminded that the fact that the Veteran may not be entitled to presumptive service connection for the claimed condition or conditions is not dispositive as to the question of direct service connection in this case. The Board is aware of the complications resulting from COVID-19 in scheduling an examination, and if necessary, a telehealth examination may be considered. The examiner must provide a comprehensive report including a complete rationale for all opinions and conclusions reached, citing the objective medical findings leading to the conclusions. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Christopher M. Collins, 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.