Citation Nr: 21001610 Decision Date: 01/11/21 Archive Date: 01/11/21 DOCKET NO. 99-18 370A DATE: January 11, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for asbestos-related lung disease is granted. FINDING OF FACT Asbestos-related lung disease is related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The legal criteria for entitlement to service connection for asbestos-related lung disease are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant is a veteran (the Veteran) who had active duty service from August 1966 to August 1969. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a November 2017 Order of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (Veterans Court). The appeal originated from a November 1999 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Montgomery, Alabama. This matter was previously before the Board on several occasions. The Board remanded the matter in February 2004 for additional procedural and evidentiary development. In February 2006, the Board denied the claim. The Veteran appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), which, in February 2008, vacated the denial and remanded the matter for further consideration. The Board subsequently remanded the matter for additional development in May 2008, April 2012, and March 2016. In March 2017, the Board again denied the claim. The Veteran again appealed the matter to the Court. In a November 2017 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the parties agreed that the Board’s March 2017 decision should be vacated, and the case remanded for further development. The Board remanded the claim to the RO in October 2018, and it has since been returned to the Board by Supplemental Statement of the Case in June 2020. The Veteran testified at a July 2003 hearing held before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) via videoconference from the Regional Office (RO); a transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. The hearing included testimony regarding the Veteran’s asbestosis. In January 2016, the Board informed the Veteran that the VLJ who had presided over the hearing was no longer available, and could not participate in the adjudication of the claim as required. See 38U.S.C.§ 7107; 38C.F.R.§20.707. The Veteran was offered an opportunity for a new hearing, but he declined in a January 2016 reply. Service Connection – Laws and Regulations VA law provides that, for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, in the active military, naval, or air service, during a period of war, or other than a period of war, the United States will pay to any veteran thus disabled and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable from the period of service in which said injury or disease was incurred, or preexisting injury or disease was aggravated, compensation, except if the disability is a result of the veteran’s own willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131 (West 2014). Entitlement to service connection on a direct basis requires (1) evidence of current nonservice-connected disability; (2) evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of disease or injury; and (3) evidence of a nexus between the in-service disease or injury and the current nonservice-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (2018). Entitlement to service connection for asbestos-related lung disease. The factual details of this case have been recounted several times in the multiple prior Board remands and the JMR. Below the Board focuses on the most recent evidence submitted since the last remand. The Veteran served as a vehicle mechanic in the military, which as likely as not exposed him to asbestos. See https://www.asbestos.com. He is currently diagnosed with asbestos-related lung disease by his treating physician, R. D, MD. In June 2020, Dr. D. provided a medical opinion linking the Veteran’s diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease to his exposure to asbestos in service. As all three elements necessary for service connection are met, the Board finds that service connection for asbestos-related lung disease is warranted. As this represents the full benefit sought on appeal, there is no prejudice resulting from any deficiency in the duties to notify or assist. JONATHAN B. KRAMER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Cramp The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.