The veteran's COPD was rated at 30 percent prior to June 8, 2006 and at 60 percent since that date. The appeal is denied for a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The veteran's FEV1/FVC ratio did not meet the criteria for a higher rating before June 8, 2006 but did after that date.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- September 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0629652
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 952 · Granted: 17% (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 0629652.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be due to COPD, but the Board found no evidence linking this condition to his service or exposure to herbicide agents. As such, service connection for the cause of death is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's COPD with OSA has been granted an initial rating of 60 percent effective May 1, 2019. The claim for separate ratings is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for OSA and COPD on a secondary basis, as well as the initial rating for constipation. The issues of entitlement to SMC-HB and TDIU have been dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial compensable evaluation of service-connected COPD to ensure a proper medical examination is conducted.
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