Asbestos Exposure Not Presumed for Naval Serviceman, Circuit Court Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It cannot be presumed that a military employee who once worked aboard Naval ships equipped with asbestos-containing products was at some point exposed to the asbestos, a federal appeals court has ruled in upholding the denial of benefits to the widow of an ex-seaman afflicted with pulmonary fibrosis. Dyment v. Principi, No. 00-7075 (Fed. Cir.).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in a decision April 24 that the Veterans claims court that denied Muriel Dyment's bid for dependancy and indemnity were correct in basing its decision on a finding that the condition that …