Lorenzano v. Brown — 90 days of presumptive service must be continuous

Louis Lorenzano, a Merchant Marine veteran, sought service connection for pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed shortly after service. The Board denied the claim, finding that tuberculosis was not shown during service and that the chronic-disease presumption did not apply because his qualifying wartime service, though totaling 93 days across two voyages, was not continuous for 90 days. On appeal, Lorenzano argued that the statute did not require continuous service. The Court rejected that argument, holding that 38 U.S.C.A. § 1112(a), read together with 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(1), requires active continuous service of at least 90 days for presumptive service connection. The Court also relied on the longstanding administrative interpretation requiring continuous service and affirmed the Board.

Presumptive service connection for chronic disease under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1112(a) applies only when the veteran has at least 90 days of continuous active service during a period of war or after December 31, 1946.

Aggregate wartime service days are not enough for the chronic-disease presumption if the service is broken into separate periods. Practitioners should verify continuity before relying on § 1112(a) or § 3.307(a)(1).

Lorenzano is a core citation for the proposition that the 90-day presumption threshold is a continuity requirement, not simply a numerical one. It is useful when VA or the Board evaluates chronic-disease presumptions for veterans with fragmented service records or nontraditional service classifications.

Assuming that separate periods of qualifying service totaling 90 days automatically satisfy the chronic-disease presumption threshold.

A veteran has two qualifying wartime enlistments lasting 60 days and 35 days. Even though the total is 95 days, the presumption under § 1112(a) does not attach if the service was not continuous.

Use this case to challenge an argument that cumulative service alone triggers the chronic-disease presumption, or to confirm why the presumption is unavailable when service is broken into separate certified periods.

Gardner v. Derwinski, Combee v. Principi, EEOC v. Associated Dry Goods Corp.