The Veteran's emphysema with COPD was granted service connection and an initial rating of 60 percent, effective April 29, 2019. The current rating remains at 60 percent.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show actual improvement in the Veteran's disability that would warrant a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- emphysema with COPD
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 16, 2024
- Citation
- A24066499
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 A24066499.
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 Veteran's cervical arthritis is granted as service connected due to neck pain that began during active duty.,Service connection for emphysema with COPD is granted based on conceded garrison exposures, including jet fuel.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain missing National Guard records, including those from his time in the Alabama Army National Guard.
- Dismissed
The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for the issues of entitlement to service connection for skin cancer, arthritis, emphysema with COPD, congestive heart failure, and an increased rating for bilateral interstitial fibrosis.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for intestinal bleeding has been denied as there is no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.,The Veteran's emphysema with COPD has been granted a disability rating of 60 percent, effective from June 14, 2017.
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