The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, as well as the increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, bilateral diabetic neuropathy, and bilateral peripheral artery disease. The Veteran's VA treatment records from 2015 to present need to be obtained, and he should be scheduled for a VA examination to evaluate his current severity of right and left lower extremity peripheral artery disease.
The deciding factor: The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly adjudicate the claims, including obtaining the Veteran's VA treatment records from 2015 to present and scheduling him for a VA examination to assess the severity of his peripheral artery disease.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, right lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, left lower extremity diabetic neuropathy, diabetes mellitus, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19124940
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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