PACT Act Claims for Toxic Exposure

Most claims need a medical opinion tying your condition to service. With a presumptive condition, the law does that work: if your records place you in a covered location during a covered period, the VA treats the connection as established. What you still have to show is the diagnosis and your service history.

Turned down years ago for something that is presumptive today? A fresh look under the current rules may be worth it.

Where and when you served

From August 2, 1990, onward in any of these: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, or Somalia.

From September 11, 2001, onward in any of these: Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Djibouti, or Yemen.

Conditions the VA presumes

• Cancers: any type of respiratory, head, neck, gastrointestinal, reproductive, kidney or pancreatic cancer; glioblastoma and other brain cancer; melanoma; lymphoma and other lymphatic cancers.
• Lung and airway illnesses: COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma first diagnosed after service, constrictive or obliterative bronchiolitis, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, granulomatous disease, pleuritis, and chronic sinusitis or rhinitis.

The list has grown since the law passed, so confirm the latest version on VA.gov’s PACT Act page.

Two conditions joined the Agent Orange list under the PACT Act: hypertension (high blood pressure) and MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance). The law also recognized service in these places and periods:

• Thailand, at any U.S. or Royal Thai base: January 9, 1962, through June 30, 1976
• Laos: December 1, 1965, through September 30, 1969
• Cambodia, at Mimot or Krek in Kampong Cham Province: April 16 through April 30, 1969
• Guam, American Samoa, or their territorial waters: January 9, 1962, through July 31, 1980
• Johnston Atoll, or aboard a ship that stopped there: January 1, 1972, through September 30, 1977

So many older veterans take blood pressure medication that this change alone matters to a lot of families. If you’re a Vietnam-era veteran in Rock Island, Moline or anywhere in Illinois and your hypertension was never service-connected, it’s worth checking.

When a veteran’s death was caused by a condition that is presumptive today, a surviving spouse or dependent child may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). Families denied under the old rules can ask for the case to be looked at again.

Unsure whether your service counts? Request a free case review and tell us your branch, dates, and where you were stationed or deployed.