Burn Pits Claims Assistance Program
We support veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits through our Burn Pits Claims Assistance Program. NVLSP provides help to veterans and their survivors at no cost to them for claims for VA disability or death benefits for illnesses related to exposure to toxic burn pits. If you have been denied VA service connection for a burn pit-related condition, and you are interested in our services, please fill out our Burn Pits Intake Form.
On August 10, 2022, the President signed into law the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, a comprehensive bill which addresses a wide range of issues relevant to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service. The PACT Act addresses health care, presumptions of service connection, research, resources, and other matters related to these exposures. Here is a summary some of the key provisions, including a list of the 24 medical conditions that, after the PACT Act, are presumptively service connected to exposure to toxins such as fumes from burn pits. In addition to these conditions, on January 2, 2025, VA added bladder cancer and ureter cancer to the list of presumptive conditions. On January 10, 2025, VA added leukemia, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myelofibrosis to the list of presumptive conditions.
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How We Can Help You At No Cost
The National Veterans Legal Services Program’s (NVLSP) Burn Pits Claims Assistance Program (Burn Pits CAP) is dedicated to helping veterans and their survivors on burn-pit related claims for VA disability or death benefits. We provide help at no cost to you — either through an NVLSP self-help guide detailing how you should file a burn-pits related claim or by examining your case to see whether we can represent you before the VA on your VA claim. The table below describes how we may be able to help. If after reviewing this table, you feel that you may benefit from representation through NVLSP’s Burn Pits CAP, please proceed to the link for our intake form below.
Pick the Box Below that Best Describes Your Situation
The Help We Provide
You are a veteran and have not yet filed an initial disability claim for the medical condition you believe is connected to exposure to burn pits
Follow the instructions in this link to NVLSP’s self-help guide for how to file an initial claim.
Note: if the claim you file is ultimately denied, we may be able to represent you (see boxes 3 and 4 below).
You are a veteran whose claim for a burn-pit-related condition was denied, and that claim was for a medical condition that has since become presumptively service-connected under the PACT Act (effective August 10, 2022) or VA’s January 2025 regulation changes
Follow the instructions in this link to NVLSP’s self-help guide for how to file a claim that has been previously denied.
Note: if the claim you file is ultimately denied, we may be able to represent you (see boxes 3 and 4 below).
You are a veteran or surviving spouse and you were previously denied service connection for a burn-pit-related condition that is NOT presumptively service-connected under the PACT Act or subsequent VA regulations
We may be able to represent you before the VA on a new claim to obtain service connection for the previously denied medical condition. Please click the link below to submit our intake form. We will then send you NVLSP’s application form to allow us to evaluate whether we can represent you.
You are a veteran or surviving spouse whose claim for a medical condition that is presumptively service connected under the PACT Act and subsequent VA regulations was denied even after the presumption went into effect.
We may be able to represent you before the VA on a new claim to obtain service connection for the previously denied medical condition. Please click the link below to submit our intake form. We will then send you NVLSP’s application form to allow us to evaluate whether we can represent you.
Note: A list of the medical conditions that are presumptively service connected under the PACT Act and subsequent VA regulations appears in the link in the first paragraph above).
NVLSP has published several self-help guides for those who want to receive benefits under the PACT Act. For those who may also be interested in learning more about the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, we have prepared a document that tackles some of the most frequently asked questions. For more information about the specific toxic exposures veterans experienced both abroad and within the United States, please see VA Training Letter 10-03.
