Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Veteran's PTSD does not meet the criteria for a disability rating higher than 50 percent, and an earlier effective date for the award of a 50 percent evaluation is not warranted.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and readjudication of the issues on appeal.

The Board denied service connection for a seizure disorder, degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, carpal tunnel of the right upper extremity, left knee disorder, and migraine headaches as there was no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during active military service.

The veteran's claim for a disability rating in excess of 40 percent for degenerative disc disease with lumbosacral strain is being remanded to obtain additional evidence.

The Board denied an increased disability evaluation in excess of 40 percent for the veteran's service-connected low back disability but granted a separate 10 percent disability evaluation for right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain disability was rated at 10 percent prior to September 10, 2003; increased to 20 percent from September 10, 2003, to March 6, 2008; and denied a rating in excess of 40 percent beginning March 6, 2008.

The Veteran was not entitled to an effective date earlier than August 13, 1998, for the award of a TDIU under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) because the minimum schedular criteria were not met prior to that date.

The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was granted service connection on a direct incurrence basis.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development, including notification of the requirements to establish service connection on a secondary basis and obtaining additional evidence.

The Board denied service connection for deep vein thrombosis of the left leg, sleep apnea, and post-traumatic stress disorder as there was no competent medical evidence establishing a link to active service.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim for a heart condition, but did find that new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim for sleep apnea.

The veteran withdrew appeals for service connection for sleep apnea, headaches, skin disorder, asbestos exposure, lung disorder, buttocks injury, arthritis of the dorsal spine (claimed as back, left hand, neck, knees, ankles, and legs), pes planus, refractive error, cystitis, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, left shoulder, enlarged heart, and compression fracture, T3-8.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain, as the evidence did not show unfavorable ankylosis or acute signs and symptoms requiring bed rest prescribed by a physician.

The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence supports a direct relationship between the veteran's sleep apnea and his active duty military service.

The veteran's service-connected varicose veins, fibromyalgia of the left hip, right knee, right shoulder, and both hands, lumbosacral spine strain, and bilateral pes cavus were evaluated. The Board found that an initial 10 percent disability rating for each extremity was warranted for the veteran's bilateral varicose veins from the time period beginning with the grant of original service connection.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including chronic lumbosacral strain and residuals of a left meniscectomy, preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis, finding no evidence of such condition in service or within one year of discharge and no medical evidence linking current conditions to active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pulmonary emboli, sleep apnea, and GERD as they were not shown to be related to his active service or secondary to his service-connected PTSD.

The veteran was granted a rating of 20 percent for his degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine prior to May 4, 2005, and this rating was not increased from May 4, 2005.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine is being remanded to schedule a new VA examination.