The Veteran is granted a certificate of eligibility for financial assistance in acquiring a special home adaptation grant due to his service-connected inhalation injury, but denied for specially adapted housing grants as he does not meet the criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's chronic heart failure is found to be an inhalation injury due to exposure to burn pits while serving in Southwest Asia, meeting the criteria for a special home adaptation grant.
- Claimed conditions
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, full thickness or subdermal burns that have resulted in contractures with limitation of motion of two or more extremities or of at least one extremity and the trunk, loss or loss of use of any of his extremities such that locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair is precluded
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 7, 2020
- Citation
- A20018107
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A20018107.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation, as they do not qualify for permanent and total disability due to loss of use of extremities or anatomical regions.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has been withdrawn. The right lower extremity radiculopathy claim is granted, and the disorder of the penis claim is denied. A 70 percent rating for a psychiatric disability is granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for financial assistance for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation due to lack of loss of use of extremities, blindness, or burns.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an allowance for an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment was denied as he is not in receipt of service-connection for the conditions that would qualify him for such benefits, and his service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for loss of use of a foot.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.