The Board has denied service connection for lumbar spine disability and remanded the issue of sleep apnea. The Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is not related to his military service or his service-connected disabilities, while his sleep apnea may be related to his service-connected orthopedic conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence linking the Veteran’s current lumbar spine disability to his military service or his service-connected gouty arthritis and/or right and left chip fracture residuals. For sleep apnea, the examiner noted that there is no known relationship between herbicide exposure and sleep apnea but did not address a secondary relationship with his service-connected orthopedic conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19179336
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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