The Veteran's idiopathic interstitial fibrosis with pleural plaques is found to be at least as likely as not related to in-service asbestos exposure, and service connection for this condition is granted.
The deciding factor: Service personnel records confirm the Veteran was exposed to asbestos during his Navy service. The Board finds an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis was caused by or resulted from his military service, granting service connection in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- idiopathic interstitial fibrosis, pleural plaques
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006564
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20006564.
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.
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The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for asbestosis with pleural plaques and vascular dementia as secondary to asbestosis with pleural plaques due to a lack of an adequate medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's conditions and his military service.
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The appeal for a compensable rating for respiratory disorders prior to October 24, 2018; a rating in excess of 10 percent from October 24, 2018; and an evaluation in excess of 60 percent from November 6, 2024 is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed for his claim of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. The Board found that the issue had been resolved by a prior rating decision granting service connection and assigning a 50% disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess his current level of severity for COPD with asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis and plaques. The Veteran was previously rated at 30 percent but may be entitled to a higher rating.
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