The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lung disability, to include from exposure to asbestos, as there was no current diagnosis of an asbestos-related pulmonary disorder and the Veteran's diagnosed lung disability first manifested many years after service and is not shown to be related to his service or any incident therein.
The deciding factor: The October 2008 VA examiner opined that it was less likely as not that the granulomatous disease of the left upper lobe was etiologically related to active service, including asbestos exposure. The Veteran's recent chest x-rays and pulmonary function tests were absent for interstitial lung disease, pleural thickening, pleural plaques consistent with asbestos exposure, or parenchymal abnormalities consistent with pneumoconiosis.
- Claimed conditions
- calcified granulomata tissues of the left upper lobe without active disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2009
- Citation
- 0906486
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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