The Veteran's lung disorders, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease, are not service-connected as they are not related to his military service or exposure to asbestos.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s current diagnosed lung disorders are less likely than not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including exposure to asbestos while serving aboard naval ship.
- Claimed conditions
- lung disorder, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107331
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to a claims processing error, as there was no adjudicative determination from which the Veteran could file a notice of disagreement.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew all claims on appeal, and the Board dismissed the appeal.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a thyroid disorder and remanded claims for lung, skin, psychiatric, and back disorders.
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