The Veteran's lung disability is granted as secondary to in-service asbestos exposure. The Veteran also meets the criteria for TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on the presumption of exposure to asbestos during service and the resulting lung disability being a result of that exposure. TDIU was granted because the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including dysthymic disorder with polysubstance abuse, gastric lymphoma, and other disabilities, prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- lung disability, gastric lymphoma, dysthymic disorder with polysubstance abuse
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19150512
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied ratings in excess of 30 percent for bilateral foot disability, a rating in excess of 30 percent for left knee disability, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for lung disability. However, it granted an effective date of December 17, 2012, but no earlier, for the award service connection for limitation of extension of the left knee and left knee scar, and granted TDIU from January 17, 2013 to November 5, 2018.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for the service-connected scar, status-post appendectomy, but denied all other claims for increased ratings and service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for lung disability to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's lung conditions, including COPD and biapical lung scarring.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, lung disability, and heart disability. The claims for migraines/sinus headaches, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and sleep apnea were remanded for further development.
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