The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is denied. The Veteran's claim for an initial disability evaluation of 70% for generalized anxiety disorder from August 12, 2013 to December 16, 2015 is granted. However, the Veteran's claim for a disability evaluation in excess of 70% for generalized anxiety disorder since December 16, 2015 is denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a diagnosis of sleep apnea and there are no symptoms or diagnoses related to exposure basis (burn pit, agent orange, Camp Lejeune, radiation, Gulf War).
- Claimed conditions
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Sleep Apnea (not diagnosed)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19104635
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19104635.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is related to his active-duty service and has granted service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Major Depressive Disorder is rated at 50 percent, effective December 14, 2021. The Board also granted a TDIU based on the Veteran's service-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including PTSD, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and ADHD, finding that these conditions had onset during his military service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for various psychiatric disabilities, arrhythmia, cardiac amyloidosis, and CAD/arteriosclerotic heart disease are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
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