The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is being remanded for further examination and opinion regarding its relationship to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation, or whether it was aggravated by these conditions.
The deciding factor: The current VA examiner did not provide a rationale for the conclusions reached in their October 2013 addendum opinion, nor did they address aggravation of the sleep apnea by service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19102303
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- 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).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
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