Sleep apnea decisions — 2022

Your claim for a higher disability rating for left shoulder surgical scar has been granted with a 30% rating effective April 22, 2015. Your other claims have been dismissed.

The Board dismissed the appeals for increased evaluations of lumbosacral strain, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy as the appellant withdrew his appeal prior to a decision.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions and a lack of substantial compliance with previous remands. The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is being returned for further development.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea and remanded his claims for increased ratings for trigger finger affecting his index, long, and ring fingers.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The evidence does not support a finding that OSA was incurred in or aggravated by military service, nor is there sufficient evidence to establish secondary service connection through his service-connected hypertension and renal insufficiency.

The Board has determined that the evidence of record is insufficient to allow a decision on the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, and thus remanded for additional development including for verification of the Veteran's additional periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA, and for the provision of a VA examination for a medical opinion to determine the nature and likely etiology of his sleep apnea. The Board also directed that the VA examiner consider and address medical evidence of record indicating the possibility that the Veteran's sleep apnea arose during or immediately following his active duty service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the onset and etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea, as well as its relationship to service-connected conditions.

The Board has determined that the VA opinions obtained in October 2021 are inadequate for several of the issues, and thus these claims must be remanded again to obtain new medical opinions. The Veteran's service connection claims for sleep apnea, back condition, GERD, dyspepsia, headaches, and erectile dysfunction will need to be addressed based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for sleep apnea due to uncertainty over when the Veteran started experiencing symptoms and whether they were early indicators or markers of OSA.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the current severity of her service-connected back disability.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea and an acquired psychiatric disability, but has remanded the claim for posttraumatic stress disorder due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral spine disability, cervical spine disorder, and fibromyalgia due to outstanding VA treatment records and a need for new VA examinations.

The Board has denied service connection for OSA and remanded the claims of increased ratings for prostate cancer and depressive disorder.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's OSA is related to his service-connected PTSD, considering obesity as a potential intermediate factor.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an examination and medical opinion regarding the Veteran's sleep apnea, as well as to obtain additional VA treatment records. The examiner will be asked to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to his military service or due to his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions and incomplete verification of the Veteran's periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, or INACDUTRA. The Veteran is also required to undergo new VA examinations for his acquired psychiatric disorders, hypertension, left knee arthritis, right shoulder injury, and obstructive sleep apnea.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions and development of evidence.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection, including skin disabilities, lumbosacral spine disability, shoulder and wrist disabilities, and obstructive sleep apnea. The reasons for remand include the need for further medical examinations and evaluations.

The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current sleep apnea disability was not manifest in service and is unrelated to his service-connected lumbar spine degenerative joint disease with disc herniation.