The Veteran's service-connected obstructive sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected mental health and lumbar spine disabilities. From July 11, 2013, to February 20, 2014, the Veteran's depressive disorder was rated at 30 percent; from February 21, 2014, forward, it is rated at 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected depression and lumbar spine disability. The evidence shows that the Veteran's depressive disorder resulted in occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with normal routine behavior, self-care, and conversation).
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, depressive disorder, chronic bilateral shoulder pain, osteoarthritis of the left upper extremity (left upper extremity carpal tunnel with neuropathy), retropatellar pain syndrome, right knee, retropatellar pain syndrome, left knee, spondylosis with spondylolisthesis lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- May 7, 2019
- Citation
- A19000378
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000378.
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 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 Board denied service connection for hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a direct relationship to service or toxic exposure. The Veteran's claims were based on his participation in TERA activities during service.
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