The Board granted service connection for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran and agreeing that his condition is related to his conceded herbicide exposure during active duty.
The deciding factor: The probative value of the private medical opinion outweighed the VA examiners' opinions, leading to a finding that the Veteran's idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is related to his service exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25043526
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as well as claims for Dependency and Indemity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, accrued benefits, and additional nonservice-connected burial benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's prior medical history.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was dismissed as the Board had already granted it in a previous decision, and the AOJ assigned an effective date of August 30, 2022.
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.