The Veteran's vascular disorder of the bilateral lower extremities has been granted service connection. The Veteran's ventral hernia, status post ventral herniorrhapy with residual scarring, and his obstructive sleep apnea have also been granted service connection.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis with degenerative changes, lumbar spine hypertrophic osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome (right upper extremity), carpal tunnel syndrome (left upper extremity), and erectile dysfunction associated with PTSD have all been denied. The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than May 6, 2014, for the grant of service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome (right upper extremity) and left upper extremity, as well as his claim for special monthly compensation for loss of use of a creative organ have also been denied. The Veteran's claims for service connection for ulcers in the ileum (claimed as abdominal pain with Crohn's disease, irritable colon syndrome, or ulcerative colitis) and sleep apnea have all been granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise regarding the etiology of the Veteran's vascular disorder of the bilateral lower extremities, ventral hernia, status post ventral herniorrhapy with residual scarring, and obstructive sleep apnea. The non-VA clinician provided a strong opinion that the Veteran's sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Vascular Disorder of Bilateral Lower Extremities, Residuals of a Hernia, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 14, 2016
- Citation
- 1628139
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 1628139.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection claims have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for PTSD, denied service connection for CFS, mast cell activation syndrome, and sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, and remanded TDIU.
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