Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Granted

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder and OSA have been reopened, but the claims for back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension remain denied.,Service connection has been granted for depressive disorder as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.

The deciding factor: The additional evidence did not provide new or material information regarding the previously denied claims of back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension.

Claimed conditions
Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and anxiety), Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), Back disability, Right knee disability, Left knee disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
How they argued it
Secondary to another service-connected condition
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 26, 2019
Citation
19132775

Veterans Law Judge

S. L. Kennedy

Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 19132775.

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.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

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.