The Board has granted service connection for spontaneous pneumothorax and awarded an effective date of August 19, 2024, for the grant of service connection for emphysema and asthma. The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his service-connected emphysema and asthma was denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's spontaneous pneumothorax is related to his service, thus resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Emphysema and Asthma, Spontaneous Pneumothorax
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2026
- Citation
- A26005875
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 A26005875.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for spontaneous pneumothorax has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's spontaneous pneumothorax is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that it does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for COPD associated with service-connected spontaneous pneumothorax was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating prior to May 9, 2018 and since then, his combined schedular rating is 40 percent, which does not meet the requirements for TDIU on a schedular basis. The issue of entitlement to TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to May 9, 2018 was remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for spontaneous pneumothorax, resolved, was denied due to failure to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause.,Service connection for change in vocal cords and COPD were both denied as there is no current diagnosis or evidence of these conditions.,TDIU was denied because the Veteran does not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU.
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