The Veteran's service connection claim for Obstructive Sleep Apnea is denied as the condition did not have onset during active service and was not otherwise caused by service, to include his service-connected depressive disorder medication. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the right shoulder disability and service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's Obstructive Sleep Apnea is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected depression disability, as there are no medical opinions linking the two conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Right Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19135898
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · Granted: 21% (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 19135898.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected left knee and left ankle conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected other specified insomnia disorder.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and heart disability, including coronary artery disease, as these conditions are found to be proximately due to or the result of the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
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