The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to service-connected PTSD.,Ischemic heart disease and peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities are denied due to lack of current diagnoses.,PTSD is granted with an initial rating of 50 percent, but no higher.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's sleep apnea was found to be secondary to his service-connected PTSD based on medical evidence linking the two conditions.,There is no current diagnosis of ischemic heart disease or peripheral neuropathy in the Veteran’s records. The Board gave more weight to the competent medical evidence, including VA examination reports and treatment records, which did not show these disabilities.,The Veteran's PTSD symptoms were found to cause occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, ischemic heart disease, bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- April 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19125612
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,350 · Granted: 26% (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 19125612.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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