The veteran claims service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung due to asbestos exposure during service. The RO has not reviewed recent private medical evidence and needs to verify inservice occupational exposure to asbestos and provide a VA examination.
The deciding factor: Recent private medical evidence supports the claim that the veteran's lung cancer is related to asbestos exposure during service, but verification of inservice exposure is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2004
- Citation
- 0403484
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0403484.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, acknowledging that the evidence was at least in equipoise regarding the relationship between the veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and his current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, specifically regarding an inadequate medical opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. The AOJ is required to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's lung cancer is at least as likely as not caused by his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient employment information provided by the Veteran, and further development is needed to clarify dates of employment and request for employment information from American Airlines.
- Denied
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and COPD have been rated at 60 percent since March 1, 2018. The Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted for this period.
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