The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating for his back disability due to insufficient evidence in the record, including a lack of an opinion regarding the continuity of symptoms post-service for obstructive sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The VA examination did not address the potential continuity of symptomatology after service for obstructive sleep apnea, which is necessary to establish service connection under certain circumstances.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, lumbosacral strain with mechanical back pain and degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19127821
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 various conditions, including GERD, chronic kidney disease, COPD, a heart condition, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, insomnia, and obstructive sleep apnea, as additional development is necessary to address the Veteran's exposure to toxic chemical agents during his service.
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