The Board has remanded the Veteran's appeal due to insufficient evidence regarding his claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, specifically whether it is secondary to his service-connected asthma. The Veteran and his wife provided testimony about their observations of the Veteran's symptoms during active duty, but a VA examination is needed to address these issues.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the medical opinion submitted by the Veteran's treating VA physician was inadequate for resolving the claim for secondary service connection due to lack of specificity regarding the relationship between asthma and sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, asthma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1517706
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 1517706.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
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