Appellate Court Affirms Decision Denying Benefits in Veteran's Benzene-Related Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An appellate court has affirmed the denial of benefits to a plaintiff who claimed that his service in the U.S. Air Force exposed him to benzene and led to his development of myelofibrosis. Johnson v. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, No. 09-0080 (U.S. Ct. App., Veterans Claims).

In the Nov. 4 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims found that the Board of Veterans' Appeals had not erred when it rejected medical testimony proffered by the plaintiff.

Chellerious Johnson brought the claims, contending that his service in the U.S. Air Force from …