The Board granted an effective date of February 12, 2019, for the grant of service connection for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis based on a liberalizing law.
The deciding factor: The decision was made after resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran and considering his presumptive exposure to burn pits during his service in Southwest Asia under the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25108972
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
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 A25108972.
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 has granted service connection for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis as secondary to in-service exposure to toxins from explosives and mortars, and for bladder cancer as secondary to in-service exposure to forever chemicals.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) prior to June 12, 2024, and denied all other claims including service connection for various respiratory conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 60 percent for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, effective August 10, 2022.
- Denied
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis as the Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.
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