The Veteran's appeal for service connection of obesity is dismissed. The Board grants secondary service connection for sleep apnea as related to asthma, effective November 5, 2012. The Board denies the request for an earlier effective date for asthma.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of obesity in August 2018. The Board granted secondary service connection for sleep apnea as related to asthma based on a private examiner's opinion that it was at least as likely as not proximately due to the service-connected asthma. The effective date for asthma is denied because there was no informal claim prior to November 5, 2012.
- Claimed conditions
- obesity, sleep apnea, asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18144374
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 18144374.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- 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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