The Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right ankle disabilities, sleep apnea (to include as secondary to PTSD), and dry eyes have been REMANDED due to the need for additional examinations and opinions. The issues of entitlement to service connection are related to his military service or service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims require further examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of these disabilities, particularly in relation to their relationship to his military service or service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Ankle Disability, Right Ankle Disability, Sleep Apnea, Dry Eyes
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19125088
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · 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 19125088.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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