The Veteran's PTSD due to MST is granted service connection, and his right and left foot disabilities are remanded for further examination. The claim for secondary service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found the evidence in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's PTSD was caused by military sexual trauma during service, granting service connection based on this finding.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Pes Planus and Plantar Fasciitis in both feet
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19139842
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 19139842.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Neck Disability, and Bilateral Upper Extremity Radiculopathy. The decision is based on the Veteran's active service and medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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