Citation Nr: 22018901 Decision Date: 03/30/22 Archive Date: 03/30/22 DOCKET NO. 18-22 002 DATE: March 30, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease is denied. FINDING OF FACT The evidence of record weighs persuasively against a finding that the Veteran's Parkinson's disease began during active service, or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for Parkinson's disease are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1962 to January 1966. In October 2019, he testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the proceeding is in the record. The Board previously remanded this matter in May 2021 for additional development. There has been substantial compliance with the remand directives, and the Board will proceed with adjudication. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). The Veteran has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The question for the Board is whether the Parkinson's disease began during service or is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The Board concludes that the evidence of record weighs persuasively against finding that the Veteran's diagnosed Parkinson's disease began during active service, or is otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a), (d). Exposure to certain herbicide agents such as Agent Orange is presumed for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam and its off-shore waters during the Vietnam Era. For the purposes of this section, the term "herbicide agent" means a chemical in an herbicide used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, specifically: 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T and its contaminant TCDD; cacodylic acid; and picloram.38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (a)(6). Parkinson's disease is recognized as a disease associated with exposure to "herbicide agents." 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e). The Veteran does not contend that he ever set foot in Vietnam during active duty, and his military personnel records confirm he had no foreign service. Instead, he contends that he developed Parkinson's disease from spraying herbicides and other chemicals as a groundskeeper while stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Service personnel records reflect the Veteran's work as a pavement maintenance specialist. His reports of spraying chemicals as part of his job responsibilities are consistent with the known circumstances of his service. And VA treatment records document a medical history of Parkinson's Disease. Although VA has not established a presumption of exposure to herbicide agents for veterans whose conditions of service did not involve duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam, the Veteran can take advantage of the presumption of service connection for Parkinson's disease if he can show actual exposure to herbicide agents during service. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (a)(1)(B); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303 (a), 3.307(a)(6)(i), (ii). Service connection can also be established based on exposure to exposure to other toxins (i.e., chemical solvents) on a direct basis by demonstrating that the exposure more likely than not caused Parkinson's disease. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110; Davidson, 581 F.3d at 1315-16; Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (a). Finally, the service connection could be established based on proof of direct causation. Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1994). In January 2020, the Board remanded this matter in an attempt to verify the Veteran's asserted in-service exposure to herbicides and other chemical agents. A March 2020 response from VA's Compensation Service reported that the Department of Defense has not identified any location in California where Agent Orange was used, tested, stored or transported; any herbicide the Veteran observed, or was associated with, was the commercial variety, not Agent Orange. In March 2020, he underwent a VA examination where he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While the examiner provided a positive nexus opinion, there was no rationale explaining the basis of the conclusory opinion other than the examiner's observation that Parkinson's disease was "known to occur due to environmental agents." As such the Board finds this opinion lacks probative value. In February 2021, VA issued a formal finding that it lacked the information the VA Records Research Center needed to verify the Veteran's claim of herbicide exposure while stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In May 2021, the Board remanded the matter again to obtain an addendum opinion on the likely etiology of the Veteran's Parkinson's disease, specifically the likelihood of a connection between that disease and the Veteran's exposure to chemicals or commercial herbicides during service. In January 2022, a VA examiner reviewed the record and concluded that it was less likely than not that Parkinson's disease was incurred in or caused by the Veteran's service. In support of this conclusion, the examiner noted that the Veteran was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013, and a review of the record did not reveal any evidence of signs or symptoms suggestive of Parkinson's disease or any neurologic condition while the Veteran was in service or at separation. The examiner further stated that it was highly unlikely that a significant condition, including tremors or signs or symptoms of Parkinson's disease, would have gone unnoted. The examiner stated that it was a "medical improbability" that an individual could have gone a span of 48 years from service with Parkinson's disease and not required evaluation or treatment. Further, the VA examiner stated there was no epidemiologic evidence suggesting that the claimed exposures to herbicides and other chemicals encountered by the Veteran offered a significant risk to the development of Parkinson's disease. The examiner stated that any neurologic condition arising due to the Veteran's claimed exposures would likely have manifested during service, proximate to service, or within one year of discharge. While Parkinson's disease might not be diagnosed for many years, the VA examiner concluded it was less likely than not that the Veteran's claimed exposures during service constituted a true risk to the Veteran for the development of the disease decades later. In support of this conclusion, the examiner again referred to the absence of any epidemiologic studies suggesting that individuals with the Veteran's claimed exposures including possible limited herbicide exposure would cause the development of Parkinson's disease. With regard to the Veteran's statements that he was exposed to tactical herbicides while stationed in California, the Board finds that these statements are not specific enough to outweigh the other evidence of record, including the Veteran's own service personnel records and statements from VA's Compensation Service which failed to show any evidence of exposure to tactical herbicides in service. The Board finds that the evidence provided from these official sources outweigh the non-specific lay statements provided by the Veteran. As the Veteran's exposure to herbicides has not been found, the Board finds that service connection for Parkinson's disease based upon presumptive exposure to herbicides is not warranted. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.309(e). The Veteran's service treatment records are negative for complaints or findings of Parkinson's disease and the Veteran was not diagnosed with Parkinson's disease until many years after separation from service. The most probative evidence of record weighs against a finding that there is a relationship between Parkinson's disease and any in-service exposure to herbicides or chemicals during the Veteran's active duty service. The Board finds the January 2022 VA examiner's opinion is entitled to great probative weight. The examiner addressed the Veteran's assertion as to the origins of his disability, and he provided an adequate rationale for the conclusion reached based on the Veteran's record and sound medical principles. Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 304 (2008). The January 2022 VA opinion outweighs the conclusory positive opinion provided in March 2020 concerning the etiology of the Veteran's Parkinson's disease. The Board finds that the evidence of record persuasively weighs against the claim of service connection for Parkinson's disease. The claim is denied. 38 C.F.R. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. M. E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Komperda, 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.