The Board denied service connection for a left shoulder disability and back condition, but granted service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's depressive disorder and residuals of a left foot injury (left foot disability).,The Board also granted service connection for atrial fibrillation as secondary to the Veteran's depressive disorder and hypertension.
The deciding factor: Both medical studies cited by Dr. Skaggs in his private examination supported that the Veteran’s sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation were caused or aggravated by his service-connected depressive disorder and/or hypertension.
- Claimed conditions
- atriial fibrillation, back condition, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), left shoulder disability, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19110013
Veterans Law Judge
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 19110013.
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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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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