Citation Nr: 18149612
Decision Date: 11/13/18	Archive Date: 11/09/18

DOCKET NO. 15-20 530
DATE:	November 13, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for stage 4 lung cancer, due to asbestos exposure, for accrued purposes only is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from July 1979 to May 1982. He died in January 2015. The appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse.

These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2014 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
The Record indicates that the appellant requested and was scheduled for a hearing in October 2018. The record further indicates that the appellant was notified of the date and time of the hearing in a September 2018 correspondence. However, the appellant failed to report for her scheduled Board hearing without report of good cause. Therefore, her hearing request is deemed withdrawn. 38 C.F.R. § 20.704 (d).
Entitlement to service connection for stage 4 lung cancer, due to asbestos for accrued purposes only is remanded.
Personnel records reflect that the Veteran served aboard the U.S.S. Davis (DD-937) during his period of active duty in the Navy, and further show that he achieved the rank of Seaman Apprentice. The Veteran contended that during his time on the naval shipyard and aboard the U.S.S. Davis, that he was constantly exposed to asbestos in his duties of repairing the ship to make it seaworthy. See Correspondence, submitted July 10, 2014. The Veteran's DD-214 and other records do not reflect his specific military occupational specialty, which is primarily used to determine a service-member's likelihood of being exposed to asbestos. See VBA Manual, M21-1, IV.ii.1.l.3.a. However, he achieved the rank of Seaman Apprentice, which is noted to have a minimal probability of asbestos exposure. See VBA Manual, M21-1, IV.ii.1.I.3.c. As such, the Board must remand for a medical opinion to determine whether the Veteran’s stage 4 lung cancer was etiologically related to the Veteran's minimal probability of asbestos exposure. See VBA Manual, M21-1, IV.ii.1.I.3.e.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain an opinion from a VA examiner of sufficient expertise to provide an opinion regarding the Veteran's lung cancer. The claims file must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner, and a note that it was reviewed should be included in the report. After reviewing the claims file, the examiner should answer the following question:
Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's stage 4 lung cancer is causally or etiologically related to service? The examiner is asked to specifically address the Veteran's contention that he was exposed to asbestos during service on the U.S.S. Davis.
In rendering the opinion, the examiner is instructed to assume that the Veteran had at least a minimal degree of asbestos exposure during service.
 
MICHAEL A PAPPAS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Marsh II, Associate Counsel