Asbestosis decisions — 2015

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to January 31, 2011 for service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss. The Board also denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a pulmonary disease (asbestosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen claims of entitlement to service connection for PTSD, a lung disorder, hearing loss, tinnitus, a skin disorder, hypertension, calluses of the right foot, and calluses of the left foot.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain medical records and verify his service history.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for the development of additional VA medical records to support his claim for higher disability ratings for COPD and asbestosis.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD and asbestosis effective November 8, 2007. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for asbestosis is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed asbestosis is not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining a supplemental opinion from the VA examiner regarding his claimed lung disorder and addressing the issue of entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Veteran's claim for higher initial evaluations and TDIU was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a compensable rating prior to December 8, 2011 or any rating in excess of 10 percent since then.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus was reopened and granted.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disability, asbestosis, and acquired psychiatric disability remain pending.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's asbestosis and COPD are not related to his military service, including asbestos exposure.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for allergic rhinitis and determined that new and material evidence has been submitted. The Veteran's history of hay fever is noted in his entrance examination report, and there is equipoise regarding whether he was exposed to asbestos during active service. The evidence does not clearly and unmistakably show that any increase in the severity of pre-existing allergic rhinitis was due to the natural progress of the disease.

The Board found that the Veteran's current pulmonary disorder, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is not related to his military service or any incident thereof.

The Veteran's service connection claim for chronic lung disease, including asbestosis, COPD, and asthma was granted. The exposure basis is presumed based on asbestos exposure in service.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed conditions did not meet the criteria for service connection, as there was no evidence showing they were incurred or aggravated during his active duty service. The claims are therefore denied.

The Board has ordered a remand to ensure compliance with the detailed instructions for an examination of the Veteran's asbestosis. The case will be returned to the AOJ for re-adjudication.

The Veteran's asbestosis was rated at a noncompensable level, but the Board granted an initial compensable rating of 30% for accrued benefits purposes based on pre-bronchodilator FVC results.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for asbestos related pulmonary fibrosis is being remanded due to the need for a videoconference hearing.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the failure of a scheduled hearing before the Board. The case will be returned for further action.

The Board has received a withdrawal of the appeal from the appellant, and thus the case is dismissed.