The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a lung condition, finding that his current lung issues are more likely due to his smoking history than any in-service exposure to asbestos.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners concluded that the Veteran’s lung condition and benign nodule are not related to service nor caused by exposure to environmental hazards, including asbestos. The Board gave greater weight to these medical opinions over the lay evidence of record.
- Claimed conditions
- Lung condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19196381
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19196381.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including heart condition, lung condition, peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities, bilateral plantar fasciitis with bone spurs, left kidney cyst, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis C, migraine, and chronic allergic rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent initial evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder and TDIU, but remanded claims for service connection for diabetes, lumbar condition, cervical condition, lung condition, and left and right lower extremity neuropathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an earlier effective date of March 10, 2021, for a 70 percent rating for PTSD and denied an increased disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and service connection for residuals of latent tuberculosis (now also claimed as lung condition).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for allergies, a lung condition, a sinus condition, and fatigue (characterized as chronic fatigue syndrome) because the evidence did not support finding current disabilities during the pendency of the claims or contemporaneous to their filing.
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