Citation Nr: 21067836
Decision Date: 11/05/21	Archive Date: 11/05/21

DOCKET NO. 18-06 675
DATE: November 5, 2021

REMANDED

A claim of entitlement to service connection for an asbestos-related lung disability, to include lung cancer, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from March 3, 1969 to April 1973.  He asserts that he suffers from a lung disability secondary to asbestosis exposure in-service.  Because the Veteran's primary occupational specialty in the U.S. Navy was as an electrician's mate, there is a high probability that he was exposed to asbestos.  Therefore, in-service asbestos exposure is conceded.    

The most recent private medical records contained in the claims file are dated in 2014.  VA treatment records in the claims file are dated from 2014 to 2017.  Of the available VA treatment records, several indicate that the Veteran was prescribed medication by his family doctor in June 2015 and he also received treatment at the Mayo Clinic.  See November 2015 VA treatment records.  

Additionally, the Board observes that even though the Veteran was afforded a VA respiratory conditions examination in December 2014, he was unable to attend.  The respiratory conditions disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ) was completed by a VA examiner based upon a review of the claims file.  From the record, the examiner diagnosed the Veteran with emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  She did not diagnose him with an asbestos-related disorder. 

Given the limited medical records in the claims file and the lack of a complete VA examination, the Board finds that a remand of the appeal is warranted for further development.  

The matter is REMANDED for the following actions:

1.  Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any private medical professional from whom he has received treatment in relation to his alleged asbestos-related lung disability since 2014, to include his family medical doctor and the Mayo Clinic.  Make two requests for the authorized records unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile.

2.  Obtain copies of any of the Veteran's outstanding VA treatment records, to include records for the period from November 2017 to the present from the Daytona VA Outpatient Clinic (OPC) and Viera VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).   

3.  Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with a medical professional other than the examiner who completed the December 2014 DBQ.  The medical professional must review a copy of this remand, in addition to the claims file.  All necessary testing must be completed, to include a biopsy of the lungs if possible.  Thereafter, the medical professional is asked to provide answers to the following questions: 

(a.)  What lung condition, if any, does the Veteran currently have or previously has had during the time frame on appeal (i.e., from May 2014 to the present)?  

(b.)  If a lung condition is diagnosed, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's diagnosed lung condition developed secondary to/as a result of his in-service exposure to asbestos or is otherwise causally or etiologically related to service?  

The medical professional should be asked to provide a complete rationale for any medical opinion provided.    

 

 

H.M. WALKER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	P. Talpins

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.