The Board has decided that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea may be related to his COPD, but more evidence is needed to determine if it had its onset during service or was aggravated by COPD.
The deciding factor: The November 2016 medical opinion did not address whether OSA had its onset during active duty or was aggravated by COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2018
- Citation
- 18144038
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 18144038.
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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