The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 10, 2014 for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. The decision found that the correct facts were before the RO at the time of the December 2008 rating decision and that the existing legal authority was correctly applied.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no clear and unmistakable error in the December 2008 rating decision, as the evidence did not establish a current obstructive sleep apnea disability or a nexus between any initially diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and currently diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. The effective date for service connection is set at September 10, 2014, which is when the Veteran filed his petition to reopen the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19155478
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 19155478.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of left foot 5th metatarsal fracture.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea has been granted, with the effective date set at June 25, 2019.
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