The Veteran's positional sleep apnea disability is granted as secondary to his service-connected neck condition.
The deciding factor: A February 2012 positive private medical opinion linked the Veteran’s positional sleep apnea disability to his service-connected neck condition, explaining that the need for supine position to control neck pain increased the number of apneas or hypopneas he experiences per hour.
- Claimed conditions
- Positional Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19181641
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19181641.
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 positional sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to conflicting medical opinions and lack of evidence showing worsening functionality.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for positional sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability. The claims for atrial fibrillation, stroke (TIA/CVA), and aphasia are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
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