The Board's January 10, 2019 decision that remanded the Veteran’s claim for service connection for chronic obstructive sleep apnea is vacated. The appeal for entitlement to service connection for chronic obstructive sleep apnea to include as secondary to service connected hypertension is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the rationale provided with the December 2017 opinion was incomplete and requested an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran’s chronic obstructive sleep apnea is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19127777
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 has determined that the Veteran's chronic obstructive sleep apnea had its initial onset during his active duty, and service connection is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic obstructive sleep apnea is found to have had its onset during his period of active duty, and service connection for this condition is granted.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's chronic obstructive sleep apnea had its onset during his active duty service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's chronic obstructive sleep apnea is granted as service connected. The cases for increased ratings of peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity; scars, right ankle, residuals of diabetic skin ulcer; and scars, residuals of heart bypass grafting are remanded.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.