The Veteran seeks to establish service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, which he contends is secondary to his service-connected PTSD with general anxiety disorder and unspecified depressive disorder. The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's sleep apnea and his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The abstract from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine does not provide specific evidence for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, and Dr. Gallemore's opinion does not specifically address the Veteran's sleep apnea. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to obtain an updated medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's sleep apnea and his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2018
- Citation
- 1803997
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 1803997.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches with an initial rating of 50 percent effective from August 10, 2022, and denied the claims for service connection for a right knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, kidney disability, low back disability, and erectile dysfunction.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
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