ASBESTOSIS DIAGNOSIS

[derenick52 1]

Hey all,Checking from other Veterans who had their Asbestosis claims Approved-What Procedures Did the Va accept as Asbestosis Diagnosis-? I Did Not work directly with Asbestos-Was a Signalman-Sm3-In the last few years 2 of my Best friends-Both Machinist Mates- died from Mesothelioma-Most of my Exposure was from related to them,at lunch time and such,they would at times have Asbestos on their clothing,at times brushing it off,would visit with them in the evenings in Boiler room to listen to music in their work shop,there would be garbage cans full of used Asbestos,When Not overseas,we would Share a House of base to get away from ship,imagine they had Asbestos on their Civilian clothing,as all clothes are kept in same locker,Kept in contact with them both- even after Transferred to another ship,where I slept with Asbestos covered cable/pipe in my face,was on bulkhead support along middle row of bunks,Submitted with my Claim -One of My friends Death Certificate stating Mesothelioma- as cause of death -Along with his Widows Survivor Benefits Award approving benefits- as His Death Service connected from Asbestos Exposure,His widow also Verified a Photo of Us in front of the House we rented off base, shortly before discharge,I requested my Private Primary Care Doctor to check my lungs-Ended up at Pulmonary Specialist-over 20 years in Speciality-From the  CT Chest Scan-Ground Glass in Bottom of lungs-Mild Asbestosis,Was his Diagnosis,The Va DENIED my Claim last week-stated I Do NOT have a Diagnosis of Asbestosis,Anybody with Approved Asbestosis Claims-What Procedures Did the Va Accept as Diagnosis Of Asbestosis-? Any help Greatly Appreciated,Thank you,US Navy June 1970 to June 1974,George

[broncovet 4,245]

"Asbestos" is not a diagnosis.  Its a commonly used building material.  For Service connection from VA you need:

1.  A current diagnosis.  (for example mesothelioma).   You can check your medical records and see what conditions doctors diagnosed you for.  

2.  An "in service event".  In the case of asbestos related claims, you need documentation of YOUR exposure to asbestos, such as asbestos covered pipes on board ship.  Sometimes, buddy letters will suffice here.  YOur Navy buddies may be able to write a letter that asbestos was all over the ship, on clothing, on exposed pipes, etc.  You may also be able to look up your ship, they may have removed that asbestos and there may be a record of that, and when they did it.  

3.  A nexus.  This is a doctors opinion that your docuemted exposure to asbestos, at least as likely as not caused your (current diagnosis).  

[GBArmy 1,436]

derenick52 As Broncovet indicated to win a disability claim you need those 3 elements. You need a doctor to to review all your in-service and other treatment medical records and opine that asbestos is in your lungs and is the cause of respiratory illness. You have to appeal or submit a new claim depending when you received your decision letter. It would help if you copied their decision (redact your personal info, like name,ssn, etc.) The doc's info would be new info, so you may want to do a supplemental claim. The doc has to state that based on the records review, including xrays etc., the foreign matter has been determined to be asbestos and it has been in place probably a long time (ex. X years, which would correspond to when you were in the Navy.) He further has to say that in his medical/professional opinion, based on  (medical journal/articles that he lists, that it caused your illness.)Buddy letters and additional info would  help establish that there were asbestos dust all over. Your buddy died from it, etc. Diagnostic Code 6833 probably applies. Do you have a numerical value of FVC score from some of your testing? A FVC score of 50-64 would result in a VA rating if you won of 60%, so the VA is not inclined to just hand out these disabilities too easily. You probably have a case, but you need to tie things together.

[derenick52 1]

21 hours ago, derenick52 said:

Hey all,Checking from other Veterans who had their Asbestosis claims Approved-What Procedures Did the Va accept as Asbestosis Diagnosis-? I Did Not work directly with Asbestos-Was a Signalman-Sm3-In the last few years 2 of my Best friends-Both Machinist Mates- died from Mesothelioma-Most of my Exposure was from related to them,at lunch time and such,they would at times have Asbestos on their clothing,at times brushing it off,would visit with them in the evenings in Boiler room to listen to music in their work shop,there would be garbage cans full of used Asbestos,When Not overseas,we would Share a House of base to get away from ship,imagine they had Asbestos on their Civilian clothing,as all clothes are kept in same locker,Kept in contact with them both- even after Transferred to another ship,where I slept with Asbestos covered cable/pipe in my face,was on bulkhead support along middle row of bunks,Submitted with my Claim -One of My friends Death Certificate stating Mesothelioma- as cause of death -Along with his Widows Survivor Benefits Award approving benefits- as His Death Service connected from Asbestos Exposure,His widow also Verified a Photo of Us in front of the House we rented off base, shortly before discharge,I requested my Private Primary Care Doctor to check my lungs-Ended up at Pulmonary Specialist-over 20 years in Speciality-From the  CT Chest Scan-Ground Glass in Bottom of lungs-Mild Asbestosis,Was his Diagnosis,The Va DENIED my Claim last week-stated I Do NOT have a Diagnosis of Asbestosis,Anybody with Approved Asbestosis Claims-What Procedures Did the Va Accept as Diagnosis Of Asbestosis-? Any help Greatly Appreciated,Thank you,US Navy June 1970 to June 1974,George

Hey all,Thanks so much for the reply's,Have Attached Initial Evaluation by Pulmonary Specialist-Have Underlined Certain parts-Last page Scan53-Extremely likely Asbestos Exposure aboard ship-NO other Risk factors after Extensive review-and that CT Scan Very likely Represents Asbestosis-My breathing test fall into 30 to 50% Rating criteria-The MAIN reason the VA Denied my Clain-NO DIAGNOSIS OF ASBESTOSIS,Am baffled they ruled that as their opinion.THANKS for the help,George

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by derenick52

[derenick52 1]

The VA Denial says-NO Diagnostic test has Confirmed a Clinical Diagnosis of Asbestosis,Thanks

[GBArmy 1,436]

Sorry derenick52, I can't read it. If you think you do have a favorable diagnosis, appeal it. If you don't have one, then get an IMO and dbq from an independent doc. and submit a supplemental claim. 30% would probably be worth the investment to you. 50% certainly would, IMHO.

[derenick52 1]

12 hours ago, GBArmy said:

Sorry derenick52, I can't read it. If you think you do have a favorable diagnosis, appeal it. If you don't have one, then get an IMO and dbq from an independent doc. and submit a supplemental claim. 30% would probably be worth the investment to you. 50% certainly would, IMHO.

Hey.I resized the Doctor's report by 10%.All it would allow without cutting off words in report,somewhat better,Thanks

[Berta 4,215]

Lots of info on the net as to how VA handles asbesto claims.

https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/asbestos/

https://www.asbestos.com/veterans/va-claims/proving-asbestos-exposure/

Check our BVA decisions too.

This asbestos site above shows what disabilities asbestos can cause. The prime one being mesothelioma and other types of cancers.

A few years ago I met a widow at my local car dealer's, while waiting for an oil change.

We seemed to have a lot in common, both widows of vets  and both of us were VA volunteers.

When she told me what her husband died of I pulled out one of our Hadit cards for her  but  then she said she got DIC already. With no problems !!!! (because I feared she was dealing with my VAR0 and they can be rough on claimants- they often lack the ability to read.)

I asked if she was in the mesothelioma lawsuit and she said yes and had received the payment from them prior to filing her claim. She knew that was excellent evidence for her DIC but she also knew her DIC would be offset by the amount of the payment-but decided to get the DIC award anyhow, and they granted it ,with the proper offset. Why wait. I agree.

Good for her- the same VARO took thousands more (almost 30 thousand)then my FTCA offset ,from my DIC  and ignored my letters and the regs on that, and the RC got that resolved by filling a CUE on them.I had problems again when I was awarded Direct SC death but the OGC ordered my VARO to pay me because they (RO) ignored my letters on that, as well, which of course were supported by enclosing the regulations on that.

She was so smart and I asked her how she did it because she told me she couldn't use a PC when I gave her the hadit card- which she said she would pass on to a vet she knew.

Her daughter , PC savvy ,helped her and they followed everything by the letter ,that the VA asked for.

That is what we all must do.VA tells us exactly what they need.

 

 

[Berta 4,215]

Here is a link to all BVA 2019 asbestos claim decisions.

https://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva_search.jsp?QT=asbestos&EW=&AT=&ET=&RPP=10&DB=2019

You can expand the decisions to include more past years.

BVA denials are as important as awards, as they give lots of info on what a vet would need to succeed in this type of claim. (and in any type of claim)

[derenick52 1]

THANK YOU Berta So much,will check out the links,You are a Hero,Take care