The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there is new and material evidence showing an in-service onset of the condition. The Board also found that the Veteran's lay statements supporting an earlier onset are credible and outweigh the VA examiner's opinion based solely on the date of diagnosis.
The deciding factor: The decision was made in favor of the Veteran due to the credibility of his lay statements regarding loud snoring and daytime sleepiness during service, which were not considered by the VA examiner who only relied on the date of diagnosis for determining the onset of the condition.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19171430
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 19171430.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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