The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral knee degenerative arthritis, and bilateral pes planus were all found to be caused by service. The left knee meniscus tear was not related to service.,Service connection for the Veteran’s bilateral knee and foot disabilities (including bilateral pes planus) was granted based on a finding that these conditions were caused by airborne training and jumps in service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence supported a finding of direct service connection, with no alternative theories considered.,The private physician provided detailed reasoning for the opinion that the Veteran's disabilities were related to service, including his combat duties and repeated jumps from aircraft.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Bilateral Knee Degenerative Arthritis, Degenerative Joint Disease of the MTP joint and midfoot bilaterally, Bilateral Pes Planus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19178862
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 service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorders, lumbar and cervical spine disabilities, bilateral radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and bilateral radiculopathy and neuropathy of the lower extremities.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding that the Veteran's symptoms more closely approximated those associated with a 50 percent rating.
- Partly granted
The appeal for entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted, while other appeals were dismissed as untimely and remanded for further action on essential tremors.
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