Citation Nr: A25106957 Decision Date: 12/11/25 Archive Date: 12/11/25 DOCKET NO. 250513-537611 DATE: December 11, 2025 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral cataracts is granted. Entitlement to service connection for benign neoplasm of right conjunctiva is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The evidence weighs in favor of finding that the Veteran's bilateral cataracts are due to conceded herbicide exposure. 2. The evidence weighs in favor of finding that the Veteran's benign neoplasm of right conjunctiva is due to conceded herbicide exposure. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for bilateral cataracts have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for benign neoplasm of right conjunctiva have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty November 1968 to November 1972. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an April 2025 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a May 2025 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement (NOD)) the Veteran elected to have a hearing with a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). Under the Board Hearing Docket, the Board is limited to review of the evidence in the record up to and until the date of the rating decision on appeal and any evidence submitted at the Board hearing and within 90 days following the hearing. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.202 (b). In August 2025, the Veteran attended a hearing with the undersigned VLJ; a transcript of the hearing is of record. SERVICE CONNECTION Service connection generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Certain diseases may be presumed to be service-connected if manifested in a Veteran who was exposed to herbicide agents in service. Veterans who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam era are presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents in service. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(6)(ii), 3.309(e). The claimed eye disabilities are not diseases found to be presumptively linked to herbicide agent exposure pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e). Thus, the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for any claimed conditions on a presumptive basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing presumption provisions for herbicide exposure, a claimant is not precluded from establishing service connection with proof of direct causation based on herbicide exposure. Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039, 1042 (Fed. Cir. 1994); Polovick v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 48, 54 (2009). Therefore, the Board has considered the issues on appeal with respect to direct service connection with proof of a likely etiology based on a facts found determination due to conceded herbicide exposure. Id. 1. Entitlement to service connection for cataracts is granted. 2. Entitlement to service connection for benign neoplasm of right conjunctiva is granted. The Veteran has current diagnoses of bilateral cataracts and benign neoplasm of the right eye conjunctiva as evidenced by favorable findings made by the RO in the April 2025 rating decision. A favorable finding made by a VA adjudicator, or the Board is generally binding on all subsequent adjudications by the RO and the Board. 38 C.F.R. § 3.104 (c). The first and second elements of service connection have been met. The remaining inquiry is whether the disabilities were due to service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. Medical evidence in favor of a nexus includes multiple opinions from multiple providers that find the Veteran's diagnosed eye disabilities are more likely than not due to herbicide exposure in service. A January 2025 opinion provided by a VA physician, stated that "right eye conjunctival neoplasm is more likely than not related to toxic exposure activities including agent orange exposure." See also February 2025 VA Examination. An April 2025 VA examiner found that "[t]oxic exposure, particularly to heavy metals like lead and cadmium, and air pollution, can contribute to the development of cataracts as potential aggravating factor although the exact mechanisms and extent of the link are still being investigated." The Veteran has diagnoses of bilateral cataracts and benign neoplasm of the right eye conjunctiva and the medical evidence persuasively weighs in favor of finding that such is due to his conceded herbicide exposure in service; the claim is granted. Marcus N. Fulton Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Love, Kelsey 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.