The rating for mood disorder with depressive features was restored from noncompensable to 50 percent effective May 1, 2013. Service connection was granted for sleep apnea and headaches but denied for high cholesterol and elevated liver enzymes.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on medical opinions linking the Veteran's service-connected mood disorder with his sleep apnea and headaches, as well as a link between his mood disorder and elevated liver enzymes and high cholesterol. The opinions were considered substantial probative weight in establishing these connections.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder with depressive features, high cholesterol, elevated liver enzymes, sleep apnea, headaches
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- February 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19112557
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19112557.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- 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.
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