The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for asbestos-related pleural disease was denied, as the current level of disability does not warrant a higher rating under the applicable schedular criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's respiratory symptoms have primarily been attributed to his nonservice-connected COPD and his asbestosis related pleural disease has been described as stable.
- Claimed conditions
- Asbestos-related pleural disease, Nonservice-connected COPD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1730959
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1730959.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for an asbestos-related pleural disease and entitlement to TDIU due to his bilateral hearing loss. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that any current asbestos-related pleural disease was related to service, while the VA medical opinions supported this conclusion. For TDIU, the Board found that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss alone did not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for asbestos-related pleural disease and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the current disability levels did not warrant a higher rating under VA's schedular criteria.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, as he is able to perform sedentary work despite his knee issues.
- Whole decision: Denied
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.
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