Veterans’ Claims Appellate Court Upholds Denial of Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– An appellate court has upheld a Veterans’ Board decision denying benefits to a man who claims he was exposed to a number of toxins, including benzene, while serving in the U.S. Navy.

In the Aug. 24 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims found that there was no evidence linking the man’s alleged exposure to herbicides, asbestos and other toxins to his development of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Joseph T. Neary Jr. filed a claim for entitlement to service connection for a number of ailments, including hyperlipidemia and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), which he contends …