The Board has determined that the original denial was not final and remanded for a secondary service connection claim. The Veteran's sleep apnea is currently denied as there are no new and material evidence to support his claim. However, the Board found the VA opinions inadequate and ordered an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran’s sleep apnea is at least as likely as not proximately due to service-connected dysthymic disorder or prescribed Zoloft.
The deciding factor: The original denial was not final because there were new claims submitted. The current claim for secondary service connection has been remanded due to inadequate opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea with periodic limb movement syndrome, dysthymic disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19116712
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 19116712.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's dysthymic disorder disability was productive of total social and occupational impairment throughout the claim period, warranting a 100 percent disability rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for fibromyalgia and psychiatric disabilities, as well as his entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU), are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected dysthymic disorder, anxiety disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and dyslexia have prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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