Federal Circuit Dismisses Veteran's Bid for Benefits for Contested Silicosis

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Circuit Court has dismissed an appeal by a former Army cook who contends that his lung disease relates back to service-related silica exposure, saying it does not have jurisdiction to consider purely factual disputes. Dupree v. Shinseki, No. 2011-7092 (Fed. Cir.).

The Circuit Court said Aug. 9 that its jurisdiction to review decisions by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is limited to constitutional issues or challenges or the law as applied in an individual case.

Lawrence L. Dupree served as an active duty cook from 1970 to 1972. During his service he complained …