The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability, an acquired psychiatric disorder, and sleep apnea due to hypertension. The issues are related to whether these conditions are directly related to his military service or secondary to other service-connected disabilities.,Specifically, the Veteran is seeking service connection for a low back disability that he believes was caused by his active duty service or his left knee disability. He also claims service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD, anxiety, and depression, which he attributes to in-service trauma. Lastly, he seeks service connection for sleep apnea related to hypertension.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current diagnoses of low back disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and sleep apnea need further clarification due to the lack of a clear link between these conditions and his military service or other service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder, Low Back Disability, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19138068
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 317 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19138068.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
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