The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected PTSD and obesity, which was caused by the PTSD.,The Veteran's hypertension is remanded for further evaluation due to presumed herbicide exposure or service-connected PTSD. The Board notes a positive association between hypertension and herbicide agents but requires an additional opinion on causation.,The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted based on his service-connected disabilities rendering him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The sleep apnea was found to be caused by obesity, which in turn was a result of the service-connected PTSD. The obesity was considered an intermediate step between the PTSD and the sleep apnea.,For hypertension, the Board noted that there is positive evidence associating hypertension with herbicide exposure or service-connected PTSD but requires further evaluation on causation.,The Veteran's education and occupational experience combined with his service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19159499
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 19159499.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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