Sleep apnea decisions — 2021

The Board has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain and remanded the issues of service connection for a cervical spine condition and bilateral pes planus.

The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete review of service records and need for a new medical opinion regarding whether sleep apnea is related to military service.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as the evidence did not show it was incurred or aggravated by active military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hypertension, headaches, ankle and leg disabilities, knee disability, and shoulder arthritis, were denied as there was no evidence of a current disability or relationship to service.

Your service connection for sleep apnea has already been granted, so your current claim is dismissed.

The Board has granted a separate rating of 10 percent for radiculopathy of the bilateral lower extremities, but denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for lumbosacral strain.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and cervical spine condition due to incomplete consideration of new evidence.

The Board dismissed the appeals due to the Veteran's death, and no effective dates were granted for any of the issues.

The Board has granted an effective date of September 1, 2006 for the grant of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. The decision finds that entitlement to service connection arose in November 2006 when the Veteran filed his claim, during the year after discharge from service on August 31, 2006.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and TDIU for the period prior to January 14, 2021 due to inadequate examination in the original decision. The Veteran is required to provide updated medical records and a VA examination must be conducted to address his statements about sleep issues during service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development and need for a supplemental VA opinion regarding service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, including whether it is caused or aggravated by service-connected PTSD and/or coronary artery disease.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of the Veteran's sleep apnea and its relation to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion on whether his obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder with depression.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and increased the rating for right shoulder strain, impingement syndrome, and tenosynovitis to 20 percent. The ratings for right knee osteoarthritis and left knee osteoarthritis were also granted.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to service or secondary to his service-connected major depressive disorder. The examiner must provide an opinion on both direct and secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete service records and insufficient medical evidence on file. The claims are now pending again.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for epistaxis, hypoxemia, and obstructive sleep apnea due to in-service exposure to fire extinguishing substances and asbestos. Additional development is needed including obtaining medical records, verifying in-service exposures, and providing an addendum opinion.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted entitlement to a TDIU.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for clarification on whether the Veteran's thoracic spondylosis and lumbosacral strain began during service or are related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.