The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for proper notice regarding his obligation to provide evidence of a baseline severity of his sleep apnea in order to establish entitlement to service connection on a secondary basis.
The deciding factor: VA needs to inform the Veteran that it is his responsibility under 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(b) to establish a baseline level of his sleep apnea disability (i.e., its level of severity prior to the onset of aggravation by a service-connected disability or the earliest medical evidence of its level of severity between onset of aggravation and its current level of severity).
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), vascular disabilities, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2013
- Citation
- 1319269
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 1319269.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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